INTERNATIONAL
agriculture • food • biodiversity • environment
Agropolis International
brings together institutions of
research and higher education
in Montpellier and LanguedocRoussillon in partnership with
local communities, companies
and regional enterprises and
in close cooperation with
international institutions.
This scientific community
has one main objective–
the economic and social
development of Mediterranean
and tropical regions.
Agropolis International
is an international space open
to all interested socioeconomic
development stakeholders
in fields associated with
agriculture, food production,
biodiversity, environment and
rural societies.

Agropolis is an international campus devoted to agricultural and
environmental sciences. There is significant potential for scientific and
technological expertise: 2 300 scientists in more than 100 research units
in Montpellier and Languedoc-Roussillon, including 300 scientists in
60 countries.
Agropolis International is structured according to a broad range of
research themes corresponding to the overall scientific, technological
and economic issues of development:
• Agronomy and Mediterranean
and tropical agricultural production sectors
• Biotechnology and food technology
• Biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystems
• Water, environment and sustainable development
• Societies and sustainable development
• Genomics and integrative plant and animal biology
• Food and health
• Food quality and safety
Agropolis International promotes the capitalisation and enhancement
of knowledge, personnel training and technology transfer. It is a hub
for visitors and international exchanges, while promoting initiatives
based on multilateral and collective expertise and contributing to
the scientific and technological knowledge needed for preparing
development policies.

Development research and
expertise on geoinformation
and Earth Observation
for environment and
territories in Montpellier
and Languedoc-Roussillon
Access to airborne and satellite technology
for Earth Observation is a major
methodological boon for researchers. This
‘altitude gain’ for monitoring has led to
the development of a new approach to
assessing territories, providing an overview
of the target area and clarifying the
distribution of elements within this area.

Geoinformation
and Earth Observation
for environment
and territories
Satellite and airborne remote sensing

Page 6

The quality and accuracy of the remote
sensing tool are continually being improved.
The increase in the number of spaceborne
sensors and progress achieved in signal
processing have generated new information
that can in turn be used in a broad range of
scientific fields as well as for
decision support.

Spatial analysis and spatiotemporal

Page 16

Information systems and observatories

Page 26

Moreover, as information can now be
repetitively acquired over time at low cost,
it is possible to draw up a historical record
of changes instead of just having access to
single images that have been captured
at given times.

Spatial information applications

Page 34

Alongside the development of information
collection technology, information
processing methods have also progressed
substantially in conjunction with advances
in computer technology. Collected
information can thus be analysed by
scientists, as well as users
and decisionmakers.
Products obtained in this way have
become demonstration tools that are
highly effective for boosting stakeholders’
awareness, simulation, training and decision
support. This technology has thus given rise
to real communication products that–in
addition to their scientific features–have
evident artistic attributes.
This is the first Dossier devoted to a
research and action tool. It presents
research on improving this tool, along with
examples of its applications to meet needs
on different topics.

emographic pressure,
socioeconomic dynamics,
climate change, ecosystem
transformation, pandemic disease
risks... Societies have to make
rational choices with respect to
human activities, land use, resource
tapping and land development so
as to mitigate their environmental
impacts. These sustainable
development strategies are based
on an overall understanding of the
system dynamics, joint formulation
of management methods, the
empowerment of citizens and
implementation of assessment
systems. Geoinformation and Earth
Observation for environment and
territories have a crucial role in
these strategies. It is currently at the
crossroads of three major challenges,
i.e. knowledge, management and
governance, and technological
challenges.

4

The knowledge challenge may be met
by gaining insight into ecosystems,
territories and societies. The
importance of spatial information
in these approaches can be summed
up in a single question: how can
spatiotemporal information be
acquired on a complex system and
be analysed so that it is effective
for revealing structures, processes
and dynamics? The topics covered
in this Agropolis International
Dossier–ranging from snow cover on
Andean glaciers to coral ecosystems
in the Pacific, from temperate forests
to Mediterranean agroecosystems,
from changing rural areas to
epidemiological events–highlight
the research under way associated

with the use of spatial information to
address this knowledge challenge.
The management and governance
challenge concerns the capacity to
streamline management strategies,
ensure effective collaborations and
negotiations, while fostering the
empowerment of stakeholders and
citizens. The efficient use of spatial
information has a pivotal role. It
can boost the insight of different
stakeholders and enable them to
put forward their views, facilitate
joint representation of territories,
structuring of information systems,
as well as sharing of information
between individuals and between
organizations.
The technological challenge
encompasses telecommunications,
computer and satellite remote sensing
issues. It has an overwhelming
role in fostering the development
of innovative spatial information
approaches involving geopositioning,
distributed mobile sensors, virtual
globes, etc. In addition to the economic
benefits, these technological advances
have major impacts on our societies.
They have remodelled our vision
of Earth, from a patchwork of local
systems into a standalone system of
interacting constituents, from local
initiatives to global dynamics–climate,
pollution, economics, biodiversity,
epidemics, etc.
Geoinformation and Earth
Observation for environment
and territories is a research focus
that spans many fields and has
several specific features: obviously

its spatiotemporal nature, along
with its complexity, diversity and
uncertainty. It must be dealt with
through a multidisciplinary approach,
including geography, mathematics,
image and signal processing,
computer science, cognitive science,
humanities and social science, other
specialised disciplines, etc. Thirtyone Agropolis International research
teams collaborated in drawing up
this Dossier, some in conceptual
and methodological fields, others in
thematic fields using these methods in
specific settings.
The Dossier is structured in four
chapters:
• The first three deal with
methodological research on the
acquisition of spatial information via
satellite and airborne remote sensing
(chapter 1), on spatial analysis and
spatiotemporal modelling (chapter 2),
and on designing information systems
and observatories (chapter 3).
• Chapter 4 illustrates applications
of this research in four fields, i.e.
agriculture, environment, land-use
planning and societies.
We all (often unconsciously) use
spatial information to monitor the
environment, get our bearings and
take action. Agropolis International
teams–along with their national and
international partners–are striving to
extend, develop and make effective
use of this potential for the benefit of
humans, society and the planet.
Pascal Kosuth (Director of UMR
TETIS and the Remote Sensing
Center, Montpellier, France)

Light aircraft systems: So-called ‘light’ data
acquisition systems are currently being developed as a
complement to ‘heavy’ satellite and airborne systems. With
these systems, images are acquired via drone or microlight
aircraft equipped with commercial digital cameras that
have been modified for acquisition of images in spectral
bands other than red/green/blue. These inexpensive and
easy-to-use systems can generate images that require
specifically tailored techniques to preprocess and convert
them into quantitative thematic maps.
Very high spatial resolution (VHSR):
Very high spatial resolution (metric and submetric)
remote sensing systems first appeared around year 2000
for visible and infrared wavelengths (multispectral imaging)
and 2008 for microwaves (radar imaging). Although
initially limited to airborne acquisition,VHSR technology
has radically changed satellite remote sensing and made it
possible to map most landscape and urban environment
constituents. Techniques implemented for object detection
(extraction) and for splitting images into different entities
(segmentation) are booming but, as the quality of the
results may vary, adaptations may be required depending
on the topic being investigated.
Very high temporal resolution:
The scientific community and users can have access to
time series images in low (100-1000 m) and, recently,
decametric spatial resolutions, with a repeatability of
around 1-3 days. Extraction of information from timeseries images is a major future remote sensing challenge.

Such work requires analysis and debate on time (season,
year, etc.) and space (plant, plot, region, etc.) scales
at which dynamic functioning, evolution and change
phenomena are perceived and detected, and on tailoring
models to these new data sources.
Lidar techniques: Lidar (light detection and ranging)
is an observation technology system based on laser
beam transmission-reception. Onboard range-finder
systems determine the distance between the sensor and
the target by analysis of the main lidar echo and may be
applied to bathymetrical or topographical measurements.
On the other hand, full wave form systems measure
the entire reflected signal, thus providing access to the
vertical structure of a target surface. They generate
information that cannot be accessed by other remote
sensing techniques, such as the digital terrain model in
forested areas and 3D vegetation structure mapping.
Radar techniques: An essential feature of radar
is its capacity to acquire images irrespective of the
meteorological and sunlight conditions through active
microwave transmission and reception of their echo
after interaction with a surface. SAR radar imaging thus
provides information on the surface roughness, radar
altimetry generates information on ocean surface and
continental water levels, while radar interferometry
can be used to measure relief (spatial interferometry),
movements and deformations (temporal interferometry)
in soil and water.
The expertise pooled at Agropolis International in the
fields of satellite and airborne remote sensing is highly
original. There is substantial potential for developing
remote sensing methods that could be mobilized to
help in dealing with issues concerning environmental
and resource knowledge and management, at regional
and local scales in Europe and developing countries. The
research teams thus invest in data acquisition, image and
signal processing. They conduct studies directly associated
with thematic fields of research, with support from the
technological research platform of the Remote Sensing
Center in Montpellier (France) and its development via
the GEOSUD project.
Agnès Bégué (UMR TETIS)
& Frédéric Huynh (US ESPACE)

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

n 2009, around 60 satellites are seamlessly
monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans,
and land surfaces. Satellite remote sensing has
many advantages for environmental and territorial
inventories and surveys as compared to conventional
ground measurement systems (objectivity, homogeneity,
repeatability, completeness, archiving, etc.). Acquired
images and data are inputs for global surface process
models while–on a more local scale–providing essential
information for environmental and territorial resource
management. The launching and development of new
satellite and airborne systems has substantially enhanced
the management of natural and agricultural areas. Specific
innovative algorithms for image and signal processing are
thus being developed in order to take full advantage of the
technological potential of these systems.

7

Satellite and airborne
remote sensing

Harnessing
geoinformation to
enhance environmental
and territorial knowledge
and management

The joint research unit (UMR)
Geoinformation and Earth
Observation for Environment
and Land Management (UMR
TETIS, Cemagref, CIRAD, ENGREF/
AgroParisTech) focuses on
developing methods for acquiring
and deploying geoinformation to
enhance environmental and territorial
knowledge and management.
An integrated approach is thus
implemented throughout the
information flow channel, from the
acquisition of data (mobilization)
until the use of knowledge
(appropriation), with the processing,
production, management and pooling
of geoinformation involved along the
way.
The UMR TETIS research team
conducts conceptual, methodological
and thematic research to deal with
the different components of this
information flow channel, with four
main lines of research:
n Remote sensing, geoinformation
acquisition and processing. This
research line is focused on satellite
and airborne remote sensing methods
applied to rural areas and territories
in the domains of passive (visible,
thermal) and active (radar, lidar)
sensors. The research encompasses
image and signal processing methods
(classification, object detection,
characterization of change, etc.). The
UMR collaborates closely with CNES,
space laboratories and industrial
partners in this field, as well as with
specialized research teams with the
aim of adapting the methods to the
specific features of the issues and
systems under investigation.

o Analysis of spatial structures
and spatiotemporal dynamics.
This research line involves the
analysis and mapping of spatial
structures and spatiotemporal
dynamics through a combined
mathematical (geostatistics,
spatial field reconstruction, spatial
modelling of processes, etc.) and
geographical (analysis of territorial
dynamics, stakeholders’ viewpoints,
pictorial symbolization) approach.
The research is focused especially
on problems of spatial resolution,
scaling consistency, measurement
quality, model sensitivity, indicator
development, and adaptation of
computer languages for territorial
modelling.
p Information system design. This
information management, exchange
and pooling research line deals with
the structuring of spatiotemporal
knowledge and information through
the development of observatories
and information systems. Studies are
focused specifically on information
modelling as well as concepts and
methods for capitalizing, managing,
archiving and providing access to
information to be shared between
stakeholders (data infrastructures,
interoperability between information
systems).
q Information and territorial
development. This research line is
focused on processes that facilitate
the appropriation of information
by stakeholders in territorial
governance and development
approaches. It deals with the role of
information and systems that provide
access to this information. Case
studies are conducted in settings
in which information is generally
shared asymmetrically between
stakeholders. The research is aimed
at developing methods for hosting,
coaching and training on information
management. The goal is to ensure
that the viewpoints, objectives and

constraints of different social groups
will be clearly expressed and taken
into account by all concerned parties.
A fifth line of activity is devoted
to training (representing around
20% of the UMR’s activities): initial
engineering training, MSc and PhD
courses, continuing professional
education, etc.
Approaches are developed in remote
sensing, computer science, spatial
analysis, geography, environmental
science and territorial development.
The UMR coordinates research
projects and public policy support
projects that concern agriculture, the
environment, natural areas, forests,
aquatic environments, animal health,
territorial development and hazards.

Earth Observation,
integrated management
of environments and
societies, information
for territorial development
in tropical environments
The overall goal of the Expertise et
SPAtialisation des Connaissances
en Environnement unit (ESPACE,
IRD) is to develop and implement
methods for the spatialization of
knowledge through remote sensing
and integrated approaches, from
data acquisition to decision-making
processes, with the aim of promoting
sustainable territorial development in
tropical environments.

The scientific and technological
activities of the unit are organized
in the framework of three
methodological research programmes:
satellite Earth Observation for
monitoring tropical environments:
remote sensing based spatial
indicators, near real time
environmental observation and
monitoring methods
integrated approaches to
environment and society: landscape
analysis and observatories for
environmental management,
spatialization of environment-health
risks; territorial governance indicators
integrated knowledge systems to
enhance decision-making support:
interoperable information systems
for sharing mixed (spatial and in situ)
data, modelling of dynamics. •••

Multispectral and thermal images of a sugarcane field acquired
with a camera mounted on a microlight aircraft.
The aim of the AgriDrone project is to supply farmers in
Réunion with sugarcane production management support
tools to enable them to increase crop yields and reduce
expenditures through efficient fertilization, irrigation, weeding
and pest control.

These new tools are based on aerial photographs taken with
commercial digital cameras. These cameras are equipped with
band-pass filters through which only the desired wavelengths
pass (e.g. near infrared). A thermal camera is also used to
measure surface temperatures. These cameras are mounted on
small unmanned aerial vehicles or ultralight-type aircraft that
are ready for service upon request. Maps are drawn up on the
basis of geoinformation obtained from the images. Spectral
information from the images is correlated with the field data
(plant nitrogen and water contents, leaf area, biomass, etc.) in
order to clarify the link between the measured radiometric
signal and the surface parameters, and to develop relevant
agricultural indicators for the agricultural subsector. The tools
developed within the framework of AgriDrone will ultimately
enable users to gain insight into the actual situation on target
farms (planted area, average field slope, heterogeneity, etc.),
and to monitor crop development and growth anomalies
(germination, weed infestation, water and nitrogen stress, etc.).
A comprehensive operational service is now available based
on the methods and tools developed through this project: a
catalogue of mapping products, a tool for disseminating and
handling digital maps and teaching material for secondary
schools and technical services.
This project is carried out by CIRAD in partnership with
Cemagref, Avion jaune and CERF. It is supported by the French
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Réunion Region.
Contacts: Valentine Lebourgeois,
valentine.lebourgeois@cirad.fr
& Bruno Roux, bruno.roux@lavionjaune.fr

Considering the exceptional uniqueness of the Amazon Basin, it is essential
to have a satellite programming and data receiving capacity to enable the
programming, processing and development of indicators that could be
used to assess the environment in this specific area and thus enhance its
management. The SEAS-Guyane (Survey of Environment Assisted by Satellites)
project was designed to set up a technological platform for the acquisition
and processing of data on different spatiotemporal scales from highresolution satellites (SPOT and ENVISAT) to be used for research, training
and regional development.
Through this platform, users have access to quasi-daily data at a spatial
resolution ranging from 20 to 2.5 m within a 5 000 km diameter circle
focused on French Guiana and spanning the Guyana Plateau, West Indies and
Amazon Basin. Over 14 000 images are acquired annually within this circle,
and over 500 images are generated for selected and labelled SEAS-Guyane
projects.
The technological platform operational policy was drawn up by a steering
committee (Regional Council, IRD, CNES, French government, SPOT Image,
ESA, Guyane Technopole, Pôle Universitaire Guyanais [PUG], Université des
Antilles et de la Guyane [UAG]) headed by the French Guiana Region and IRD.
The ESPACE research unit (IRD), the project coordinator, has established
partnerships with SPOT Image (station installation and operation), UAG
(joint research team, training), PUG, CNES, ESA, Guyane Technopole, local
communities and French government services to develop an international
research platform for spatial remote sensing and monitoring of the
Amazonian environment. The overall objective is to set up environmental
observatories to foster sustainable development in French Guiana, the
Amazon Basin and the West Indies.

SEAS-Guyane satellite image
receiving station.

This project has given rise to many French, European and international research projects and pilot applications. For instance, the SEAS
project has enabled France to work towards fulfilling its Kyoto Protocol commitments by acquiring an image mosaic to determine the state
of its forests in this region in 2006 (Institut Forestier National, IRD, ONF, IGN, Cemagref).

The unit develops training
activities: participation in Master’s
programmes, individualized training
tailored to scientific network needs
and management.
This service activity concerns:
operational management of a
network of low-resolution and highresolution data direct receiving
stations (French Guiana, Montpellier,
Réunion, Canary Islands, New
Caledonia) so as to facilitate access
to satellite data for research in
developing countries, while also
contributing to environmental
observatory operation
access to spatial data
infrastructures via a general
interoperable information system
platform in compliance with
INSPIRE/OGC (Infrastructure for

Spatial Information/Open Geospatial
Consortium) standards.
The priority operational themes are:
Sustainable management of
ecosystems in developing countries:
geoinformation and sustainable
management
Continental waters and coastal
environments: resources and uses
Health security, health policies:
the environment and emerging
diseases
Development and globalization:
enhanced governance for
sustainable development
Renewable energy and territorial
development.
The unit’s research is based on
permanent laboratories in France, in
tropical French overseas regions and

in other foreign countries and on a
network of research platforms:
Remote Sensing Center
(Montpellier, France), in
partnership with Cemagref, CIRAD,
AgroParisTech/ENGREF and the
University of Montpellier Sud de
France
French Guiana Campus (IRDUAG-Pôle Universitaire de Guyane)
in cooperation with Brazil on issues
in the Amazon region
Campus for the Indian Ocean
Region, Réunion University
New Caledonia (University of
New Caledonia) for the South Pacific
region.
International research is also carried
out in collaboration with joint
research teams and laboratories in
Brazil and Africa. •••

Very high resolution remote sensing–which can generate
images with up to sub-metric resolution–has boosted the
potential for agricultural land use mapping and inventory. Crop
types can thus be now distinguished on the basis of their spatial
structure, no longer just according to radiometric criteria.
UMR LISAH carried out a study aimed at acquiring
geoinformation on surface features in vineyards on the basis of
airborne remote-sensing images obtained at 25 cm resolution.
The vineyards were successfully detected and the plot
distribution patterns characterized. Within the framework of
the European BACCHUS project, UMR TETIS and ITAP have
developed a software tool for automatic detection of vine
plots through airborne or satellite imaging, without any prior
knowledge of the plot distribution pattern.
The automatic recognition and characterization sensing
principle is based on Fourier spectrum analysis of images in
which vine plots, due to their periodic structure, are identified
by marked amplitude peaks. The tool automatically detects
these peaks, which each correspond to a spatial frequency and
a specific orientation. A highly selective filtering process (Gabor

filter) is applied around each thus-determined frequency and
orientation value. Only target vine plots are highlighted, so
the edges of these plots can therefore be determined. The
frequency and orientation values associated with each plot
provide a very accurate measurement of the interrow distance
and row orientations, which are crucial parameters from an
agricultural standpoint. The plot characterization process is also
focused on the detection of grassy interrow strips (additional
frequencies in the Fourier spectrum), and on estimating the
number of missing plants (statistical radiometric comparison).
The tool was assessed in a 200 ha study area (La Peyne
catchment, Languedoc-Roussillon, France) from a natural colour
(red, green, blue) aerial image, at 50 cm resolution, which was
acquired via a microlight aircraft (Société l’Avion Jaune). Around
80% of the vine plots were detected, or 84% in terms of
surface area.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) can be used to produce and analyse
images of the same scene at a series of wavelengths within the
same spectral domain. Such images generate information on
the chemical composition of objects, which means that objects
of the same apparent colour but with a different chemical
composition can be differentiated.
Most standard hyperspectral image processing methods analyse
data without taking spatial information into account. Pixels
are thus processed individually as a single array of spectral
measurements without any particular spatial arrangement by
using various classification methods (k-means, fuzzy-C-means,
hierarchical classification, support vector machines, etc.).
The combined use of available spectral and spatial information
for object detection, which has been promoted by the advent of
high spatial resolution hyperspectral imaging devices, etc., now
seems essential for many application domains (characterization
of urban areas, agriculture, etc.).

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

This is especially useful for processing images with complex
contents, where the objects to differentiate are very spectrally
close while having different spatial features (e.g. in shape,
compactness, etc.).

12

Development of sensors
and decision-support
systems
The joint research unit (UMR) ITAP
Information and Technologies
for AgroProcesses (Cemagref,
Montpellier SupAgro) aims to
develop equipment to enhance
agricultural sustainability. The
team conducts studies on sensors
and decision support systems and
on environmental technologies in
agriculture. The main research topic,
i.e. sensors and decision-support
systems, includes proxy-detection
remote sensing, traceability and
information processing/modelling.
UMR ITAP conducts research to
develop optical sensors (artificial
vision, hyperspectral vision, UV

weed 1

a

weed 2

b

c

S Results obtained with an HSI image of
a natural vegetation scene (160 spectral bands, 400-1000 nm).
(a) Original image (multispectral).
(b) Result obtained with an approach that disregards contextual
information (k-means, 5 classes).
(c) Result obtained with a spectral-spatial approach: the vegetation
is clearly differentiated from the surrounding environment.

UMR ITAP is focusing on this issue and has thus developed
a spectral-spatial cooperation scheme to split images into
spectrally homogenous adjacent regions (segmentation). The two
dimensions (spectral, spatial) are studied separately and simple
tools designed for specific environments are used. These are
chemometric tools (spectrum processing tools) for the spectral
domain, and image segmentation tools for the spatial domain.
These tools can be used to extract relevant spectral and spatial
structures and are iteratively implemented to achieve optimal
image segmentation.
Contact: Nathalie Gorretta,
nathalie.gorretta@montpellier.cemagref.fr

& near-infrared spectrometry).
It is striving to develop decision
support systems to assess the
status of different systems or to
develop precision agricultural
approaches. Different methods are
thus studied and implemented:
fuzzy logic, discrete event systems
and geostatistics. The goal is to
characterize agrosystems and
agroproducts. Finally, it develops
systems to ensure the traceability of
agricultural operations, especially
spraying, with the traceability data
being subsequently used to improve
such operations. Vine cropping is the
main field of study, but other crops,
including fuel crops, are also covered.
In the sensor field, research
is conducted on new optical
devices that could be used in
harsh environments (outdoor and

industrial environments). UMR
ITAP has developed advanced
know-how on portable or online
near-infrared sensors that can be
used for the analysis of organic
product compositions. In addition to
material sensor developments, the
measurement problem also concerns
robustness. UMR ITAP is recognized
worldwide for its chemometric
expertise, which is specifically
oriented towards boosting
measurement robustness. Finally,
the focus is also on hyperspectral
vision research and especially on
designing innovative hyperspectral
image processing methods that
take advantage of the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image
analysis and chemometry expertise.
UMR ITAP also concentrates on
developing decision support systems
for managing agricultural operations.

The unit is developing methods
and adapted tools. The methods
are based on fuzzy logic and enable
users to come up with rules on the
basis of data and/or expertise for
mapping phenomena or building
indicators, all of which may be
spatialized or not. The methods
also involve geostatistics, which are
applied to high resolution viticulture
data (precision viticulture). The aim
is to delineate homogenous areas
in which it would be appropriate to
apply a specific operation. Finally,
the formalization of decision
processes is approached via discrete
event systems.

The main research framework of
UMR ITAP is precision viticulture.
The VINNOTEC project (funded by
FUI, FEDER, LR Region, labelled by
the Q@LI-MEDiterranée competitive
cluster) is highly emblematic, with
Cemagref serving as the scientific
partner. VINNOTEC fosters the
contribution of information and
communication technologies
(ICTs) in developing vineyard
products tailored to meet market
expectations. UMR ITAP is involved
in the development of portable,
online or airborne sensors in near
infrared spectroscopy, in artificial
vision, along with the processing of

data acquired through sensors with
the aim of developing indicators and
rules of conduct.
UMR ITAP also proposes different
training on this topic. It is especially
responsible for the specialized
training programme ‘AgroTIC: ICTs
for agriculture and the environment’
at the Master’s level at Montpellier
SupAgro (France). 

Potential of L-band radar imagery for studying
tropical forest dynamics: the international
ALOS Kyoto & Carbon Initiative
Through the international Kyoto & Carbon Initiative, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is backing
an international scientific initiative aimed at developing reproducible forest ecosystem monitoring methods. These
could, for instance, generate a quantitative database that could be tapped to help reduce carbon emissions due
to environmental degradation and deforestation. It is essential to pre-evaluate forest parameters contributing
most to the signal measured in images so as to be able to extract information on the
distribution of plant biomass in the 3D space and to monitor potential changes under the
forest canopy.

Finally, the estimation of tropical forest parameters on a regional scale by statistical
inversion of properly calibrated L-band radar signals could likely be improved. Forest
canopy texture could be analysed on metric resolution optical images in order to come
up with estimations that could serve as benchmarks for forest stands as a supplement
to field measurements.
Contact: Christophe Proisy, christophe.proisy@ird.fr
For further information: www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/kyoto/kyoto_index.htm
* A Japanese satellite that was developed for mapping, regional land-coverage observation, disaster monitoring and
resource surveying.
** a radar system capable of acquiring data with up to 10 m resolution.

W L-band ALOS PALSAR image of the coastline of French Guiana
between Cayenne and the Oyapock estuary (colour composite image
with HH and HV polarization): at low tide, the bare mudbanks
(black) appear to be smooth at 20 cm wavelength; mangrove saplings
(greenish-brown) can be distinguished from older mangroves and
forests with more substantial biomass (grey).

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Following the launching of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)* in January
2007 and thanks to the availability of Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
(PALSAR)** data, it is now possible to reanalyse tropical forest structuring through a
tailored instrumental configuration. First, surveying forests with L-band radar, i.e. with a
1.25 GHz signal (λ wavelength = 23.6 cm), enables more efficient assessment of forest
dynamics, with radar signal saturation occurring at a 3-fold higher biomass level than with
C-band radar (150 t/ha of dry matter as compared to 50 t/ha). Secondly, because of the
high quality radiometric calibration of PALSAR data (<±1 dB), reproducible methods for
characterizing forest resources may be developed on the basis of still images. Thirdly,
having access to images that are unaffected by cloud cover will boost the operational
potential for imaging in tropical regions.

13

Mapping and monitoring
tropical plantations
by remote sensing

The CIRAD internal research unit (UPR) Functioning and
Management of Tree-Based Planted Ecosystems focuses research
on characterizing and formalizing water, carbon and mineral
cycling within tropical plantations. An ecosystem-based approach
is implemented to gain insight into the relevant plant-soil-climate
interactions.
Satellite imaging is an efficient tool for spatiotemporal monitoring
of plantations. Specific sensors with suitable spatial, temporal and
spectral properties are required for studying particular ecosystem
features.The satellite information collected cannot be used without
processing, i.e. different treatments involving geographic information
systems (GIS) and complex models are required.
Some structural and physiological characteristics of plantations that
can be estimated via satellite imaging are:
 leaf-area index (quantity of leaves on the plantation)
 vegetation biomass
 chlorophyll content
 productivity.

The productivity of planted tropical ecosystems must be increased in
the long term, while avoiding negative impacts on the environment,
in order to meet growing market needs. Environmental and climatic
conditions as well as current and previous cropping practices could,
however, have a major lasting impact on the evolution of biophysical
and biogeochemical components of planted tropical ecosystems. It is
essential to quantify these factors.

S Use of a satellite signal (NDVI, black circles)
to estimate leaf-area index (LAI) patterns
on a eucalyptus plot in Brazil.
Annual declines correspond to dry season leaf shedding.

These characteristics can then be analysed spatially (differences
between plots) and/or temporally (plot changes over time). For
instance, information on temporal changes in the leaf-area index
in plantation stands can reveal the duration and intensity of water
stress (see above graph). Spatial information can highlight differences
in fertility or the water storage capacity of the soil during the dry
season.
All of this information can then be used to fit ecosystem functioning
models on a plot scale or for a set of plots. These models can be
implemented, for instance, to assess the sustainability of carbon or
mineral stocks in plantations.
Contacts: Guerric le Maire, guerric.le_maire@cirad.fr
Claire Marsden, claire.marsden@cirad.fr
& Yann Nouvellon, yann.nouvellon@cirad.fr

Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology involves an active remote
sensing sensor based on a laser impulse transmission-reception principle.
Lidar, which is conventionally used in topometry and meteorology,
shows promise for characterizing continental and oceanic surfaces,
especially from aerospace platforms. As lidar is capable of penetrating
into environments such as water and vegetation, the information it
generates can supplement other information obtained by radar and
optical imaging. Signals from lidar sensors are processed on the basis
of telemetry principles. This can generate accurate topographical data
on natural environments, submerged or slightly submerged areas, along
with a 3D description of the vegetation structure. A more complete
S Left: panoramic photograph;
form of the backscattered signal (a highly sampled waveform) can also
Right: 3D point cloud obtained by terrestrial lidar.
be processed using suitable signal processing algorithms. Other target
properties can then be extracted depending on the wavelengths used, e.g. the geometry and nature of the target (water turbidity, local
slope, vegetation density, etc.).

14

Research carried out by UMR TETIS, LISAH and AMAP is focused on three thematic fields: vegetation characterization, hydrology and
fine topography. The aim is to develop specific methods for processing lidar waveforms and lidar derived 3D point clouds and to qualify
the data. Lidar signal modelling studies are also conducted in collaboration with CNES and commercial stakeholders to determine the
specifications of sensors for future space missions. For vegetation studies, biomass is assessed and canopy and understorey structures
are characterized since such information is crucial for sustainable management of forest environments (forest fires, biodiversity).
In hydrology, altimetric monitoring and bathymetric assessment of continental waters are carried out to improve management of
water resources and aquatic environments. Another aim is to make effective use of detailed descriptions of areas imaged by airborne
topographical lidar (dams, drainage systems) in order to improve descriptions of surface flows and to predict associated risks such as
erosion.
Contacts: Jean-Stéphane Bailly, bailly@teledetection.fr
Jean Dauzat, jean.dauzat@cirad.fr & Sylvie Durrieu, sylvie.durrieu@teledetection.fr

S Document outlining the European Space Agency’s
scientific strategy for its Living Planet Programme (2006).

Space agencies like the French Centre National d’Études Spatiales
(CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA) obtain support
from the scientific community to develop concepts for satellite
missions undertaken for scientific or operational purposes, to
develop technologies upstream of sensors, to validate products
derived from these missions, and to design methods that
will enable operators to use these products for scientific or
operational applications.
Researchers from the Remote Sensing Center (UMR TETIS, US
ESPACE), based in Montpellier (France), participate in French,
European and international scientific committees and initiatives:
 Science Programme Committee and Earth-Ocean-Continental
Surface-Atmosphere Scientific Committee of CNES

Th
Through this involvement, Agropolis International
re
researchers strive to include concerns and
cchallenges of agriculture, the environment,
t
territories
and sustainable development
in strategies developed for satellite Earth
Observation.
T
They
have, in collaboration with laboratories and
sta
commercial stakeholders
in France, elsewhere in Europe and
countrie helped to define and promote different satellite
other countries,
CN ESA and the National Aeronautics and Space
missions of CNES,
Administration (NASA):
 radar altimeter satellites (Topex Poseidon, Jason 1 and 2, ERS
1 and 2, ENVISAT) for measuring continental water levels
 the future PLEIADES satellite constellation for very high
spatial resolution optical imaging
 the concept of the Surface Waters Ocean Topography mission
for measuring continental water slopes by across-track spatial
radar interferometry
 the concept of the OSCAR mission for measuring the surface
velocity of rivers by along-track temporal radar interferometry
 the concept of the LVTH (lidar, vegetation, terrain, hydrology)
mission for lidar measurement of 3D characteristics of forests,
terrain and continental waters.
The Remote Sensing Center technology platform, and
its development via the Geoinformation for Sustainable
Development (GEOSUD) project, offers the scientific
community and Agropolis International partners a suitable
environment for research, training and knowledge transfer in the
satellite Earth Observation field.
Contact: Pascal Kosuth, pascal.kosuth@teledetection.fr

 Ear
Earth Science Advisory Committee of ESA and
GMES Programme of the European Commission and
ESA
International initiatives such as the Group on Earth
 In
Obs
Observation and the Integrated Global Observing
Str
Strategy.

15

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories
16

It is essential to determine the spatial dimension of
systems and take the presence of several partially
interlinked levels of internal organization into account
in order to understand their functioning. This may
include environmental and socioeconomic dynamics
and their interactions within territories. Spatial analysis
and modelling are thus guided by both the space and
the investigated issues, for which some structures and
processes may turn out to be more relevant than others.
The space is thus a ‘support’ and a ‘revealer’ of processes
that have biophysical (disseminations, flows, ecological
processes, etc.), technical (agricultural practices,
management practices), human and social (stakeholders’
strategies, collective actions, exchanges, etc.) features.
Spatial analysis may be carried out to characterize
the properties of different features (urban clusters,
river systems, natural habitats, etc.) or ranges of
variables (rainfall, population density, etc.). Each feature
or range can be described by its position, footprint,
morphology, topology, structure and internal variability.
Spatial analysis is also aimed at determining the spatial
organization of a group of features (e.g. individuals in
a population) or the limits and interactions between
different groups. Spatial analysis research encompasses
a very broad range of methods adapted to different
issues and types of system: sampling methods (in situ
metrology, surveys, etc.), system description methods
(geography, cognitive sciences, etc.), spatial and/or
temporal field reconstruction methods (geostatistics,
oversampling), environmental indicator construction,
spatialization and mapping methods, and construction of
spatial metrics and indicators.
Spatiotemporal modelling is aimed at drawing up
representations of systems while taking their spatial and
temporal dimensions into account.

There are two separate but complementary aspects
to this modelling: first the structural aspects with the
representation of spatial structures and associated
information and indicators and, secondly, the dynamic
aspect with the representation of temporal sequences
of spatialized information and even of the underlying
processes. The dynamics can be portrayed by a series
of system states or by a continuous spatiotemporal
formalization of the processes–via these simulations,
hypotheses can be tested by taking the spatial dimension
into account, and scenarios can also be studied.
Spatiotemporal modelling research also involves a broad
range of methods, including procedures for analysing
correlations between spatial fields, pressure-stateresponse models, different spatiotemporal modelling
approaches (deterministic to conceptual, distributed to
aggregated, cellular automatons, agent based models,
etc.), parametering of distributed models and analysis of
uncertainty propagation in these models.
When a variety of stakeholders or topics have to be
managed within the same territory, it is essential to
consistently overlap the different spatial structures
relevant to each of them, which may each present a
different spatial and temporal aspect. Spatiotemporal
modelling can thus contribute to the modelling of
complex systems.
The research carried out by Agropolis teams showcased
in this chapter illustrates the methodological spatial
analysis research conducted on the basis of remote
sensing data or cartographic data derived from surveys
or local observations. Reconstructing spatial fields
by spatial interpolation methods, and taking the data
quality into account from both spatiotemporal and
semantic standpoints, are major challenges for all teams.
Spatiotemporal modelling studies are focused mainly on
coupling different models integrating spatial descriptions,
and on the assimilation of geographical or remote
sensing data. The modelling types also differ, ranging
from mechanistic models designed to gain insight into
processes, to indicator-based models that provide
decision support in management processes.
Flavie Cernesson (UMR TETIS)
& Jean-Pierre Müller (UR GREEN)

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

patial analysis and spatiotemporal modelling
are geared towards formalizing the spatial
characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of
systems (ecosystems, agricultural systems, territories,
etc.) on the basis of often incomplete and imprecise
data and more-or-less indepth knowledge on the
underlying processes. Once mapped and modelled in
this way, researchers can gain insight into these systems
to enhance their management.

The joint research unit (UMR)
Botany and Computational Plant
Architecture (UMR AMAP, CIRAD,
INRA, CNRS, IRD, UM2) conducts
research on the characterization
and analysis of diversity, and the
organization and structure of plants
and plant populations. Original
methods are used such as the
analysis of plant architecture and
development, computer-assisted
identification, mathematical and
computer representation of organs,
plants, populations and landscapes,
and modelling of their growth and
production. The UMR works in
close collaboration with researchers
specialized in various disciplines
to assist in its cognitive (botany
and ecology), methodological
(applied mathematics) and targeted
(agronomy, forestry, conservation)
research projects. The team has
substantial expertise in systematics
and plant architecture, supported
by several taxonomic platforms
(herbarium collections based in
Cayenne, Montpellier, Nouméa). It
conducts field research in Europe,
Africa, South America, Asia and
Oceania.
Georeferenced or spatially explicit
information is used in much of
this research, e.g. plant organ
distributions in 3D space, species

distribution patterns, ecological
descriptor maps, topologies of plants
or habitat networks, and remote
sensing images (optical, laser, radar).
The methodological research is thus
focused on geoinformation analysis
and modelling via the application
of mathematics or applied statistics
(Markov chains, graph theory, point
processes, geostatistics, wavelet and
Fourier based image analysis, etc.)
in botany or plant ecology studies.
Remote sensing information is used
in spatial analysis and modelling in
three main thematic areas:
spatial organization of species
communities and plant biodiversity
structure and dynamics of plant
populations, especially mixed
multistrata forests
plant and landscape mosaics.
These three research themes
respectively emphasize the diversity
of groups of species and emerging
structural properties on population
and population-mosaic scales.
Considerable methodological
debate is currently under way on
remote sensing measures (optical,
radar, laser) with respect to the two
latter research themes. The focus
is on interfacing dynamic models
of the 3D structure of forests and
physical measures produced by
spatial sensors. The aim is to develop
innovative approaches for large-scale
assessment and monitoring of mixed
forest resources and biomass. •••

Vegetation structure relates to the layout of constituent plants
and organs in 3D space. This organization can be quantified on
the basis of variables (density, tree height, biomass, profile, etc.)
that are estimated by field procedures. Space observations are
required for large-scale analysis of vegetation structures and for
monitoring the underlying functional processes (exchanges with
the atmosphere) or associated dynamics. This is a substantial
challenge when attempting to assess forest stands with high
biomass and a complex multistrata structure, such as natural
forests in humid tropical regions. For such environments, the
remote sensing techniques used over the last two decades have
often been hampered by the problem of saturation of optical
or radar signals from forests with intermediate to high biomass
levels.
Recent studies based on metric resolution optical data have
shown that the results of the analysis of spatial signal variations
by texture and feature identification procedures (in partnership
with EPI ARIANA of INRIA-Méditerranée) can be correlated

with the field-based findings on structure variables with no
saturation effect. Moreover, 3D characterization of forest cover
structures can be further enhanced by the use of signals that
are able to penetrate through the cover (lidar, radar). Multiscale
coupling of forest structure models with physical models that
can simulate electromagnetic signal diffusion (from optical to
microwave) is necessary for the ‘inversion’ of remote sensing
data into relevant thematic information. Concerning tropical
forests, this coupling is dependent on the capacity to build
ecologically realistic models of 3D structures in forest stands
in order to simulate their electromagnetic signatures. Through
this modelling, the aim is, for instance, to formally relate texture
indices to a distribution of structural features (tree crowns,
gaps), or to relate signal penetration to the vertical vegetation
stratification. In turn, forest dynamics models could be enhanced
by gaining greater insight into electromagnetic signatures of
tropical forests.
Contact: Pierre Couteron, pierre.couteron@ird.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Multiscale coupling of 3D models
of forest/vegetation stands
using space observation based methods

There has been a substantial decline in rainfall throughout West Africa since the late
1960s, thus paving the way to an unprecedented period of nearly 40 years of persistent
drought. Large West African rivers have suffered severely from the drought, with
runoff deficits exceeding the rainfall deficit by twofold on average. Moreover, surface
conditions were also modified as a result of the combined effects of climate change
and human activities (expansion in croplands, deforestation, etc.), which may have led
to major changes in runoff and infiltration conditions. In order to be able to assess
the impact of these changes on flows, it is necessary to represent processes governing
links between climatic (rainfall, evapotranspiration) or anthropogenic forcings, and river
flow regimes in a spatially explicit way. UMR HydroSciences Montpellier thus develops
hydrological modelling approaches that integrate spatiotemporal variability in rainfall
and surface conditions.

This research theme is based on: (i) diachronic processing methods based on aerial
photographs and satellite images to characterize and analyse long-term land-use
changes; (ii) spatial analysis techniques to interpolate rainfall fields, for instance; and
(iii) lumped and semidistributed conceptual models to simulate flows with different
complexity (especially spatial) levels throughout large catchments. The aim is to gain further
insight into flow phenomena and enhance the environmental risk prediction capacity in
conditions where water resource access and availability are major factors limiting the
socioeconomic development mainly based on agricultural production.
Contact: Denis Ruelland, ruelland@msem.univ-montp2.fr

S The Bani River at Douna (Mali)
during low-flow (May 2006) and
high-flow (November 2006) periods.

Climatic and human
impacts on water
resources in Mediterranean
and tropical environments
Other teams focused
on this topic

The joint research unit (UMR)
HydroSciences Montpellier
(CNRS, IRD, UM1, UM2) studies
climatic and human impacts on
water resources in Mediterranean
and tropical environments. This
research involves the analysis
and modelling of underlying
processes, the characterization
of regional phenomena and
the development of conceptual
modelling approaches. The
research activities of HydroSciences
Montpellier encompass: (1) water in
the environment, (2) water resources,
and (3) links between hydroclimatic
variability and water resources.

mechanisms and impacts on water
resources’, is devoted to climatic
and/or human induced hydrological
changes in tropical and semiarid
regions. Spatiotemporal data analysis
is necessary for characterizing and
understanding the structures and
dynamics that prevail, for instance,
in Sahelian regions where the
environmental balance is weakened
by drought, desertification and
ever-increasing human pressure.
Moreover, these approaches
are essential for monitoring the
evolution of tropical glaciers, which
is a major water resource issue.

Two of the laboratory’s main research
areas are concerned about addressing
the ‘impact of climate change’
issue and implementing methods
for the management, analysis and
processing of spatiotemporal data
through flow simulation models.

The second research area, i.e.
‘Hydrological risks associated
with extreme hazards’, introduces
the concept of risk, irrespective
of whether it is associated with
extreme hydroclimatic events
or concomitant pollution flows.
Substantial spatiotemporal data
must be available and managed
to be able to gain insight into and
monitor parameters as divergent
as spatial variability in rainfall,
territorial organization, plant cover
modifications, types of land use and
associated water level variations.

The first research area, i.e.
‘Hydrological variability: analysis,

Through collaborations with many
partners, HydroSciences Montpellier

also wants to strengthen its expertise
in geoinformation management and
develop a set of specialized databases
in order to be able to achieve its
research goals in these areas.

Supporting collective
resource management
processes
The main goal of the Management
of Renewable Resources and
Environment research unit (UPR
GREEN, CIRAD) is to develop
and provide access to knowledge,
methods and tools to: (i) gain
insight into interactions between
natural resource use and ecosystem
sustainability, and (ii) support
collective management processes.
Sustainable environmental
management depends on the
conditions of interaction and
tradeoffs between ecosystem
conservation and development.
The issues are significant in

developing countries because the
inhabitants are highly dependent
on renewable resources. This
situation also applies in developed
countries due to the dispersal of
decisionmaking centres pushed by
globalization and decentralization.
Research is focused on these issues
so as to gain insight into and boost
awareness on complex social and
ecological processes. The aim is
to enhance sustainability, provide
support for management processes
that integrate the environmental
dimension over the long term,
to take information asymmetry
into account and promote the
participation of concerned
stakeholders.
The unit conducts broad-scope
research on modelling spatialized
biophysical and social dynamics.
In the first phases of information
acquisition and stakeholder
collaboration, cartography, role
playing games and surveys are
essential for spatializing resources

and their many uses. Pixelized or
vectorial cartographic data is also
used for simulations to delineate
initial spatial configurations and
to visualize temporal patterns.
Spatial visualization of simulations
is an essential tool for discussions
with stakeholders with respect
to appropriating the model or
investigating scenarios.
Applications are developed
within the research unit and in
collaboration with other teams
in the Agropolis network, as well
as with partner universities in
developing countries. The fields
of application include land use
management in the African Sahel
and Réunion (see the DOMINO
thematic research project, page
22), integrated management of
coastal areas in Réunion (‘Integrated
Coastal Management Support’
project), biodiversity in Brazil and
Madagascar, agrobiodiversity in
West Africa and Latin America, and
catchment management in Asia. •••

Development of models and indicators of water stress
in the Mediterranean region using geostatistical methods
and topoedaphic indices

This method can be applied to actual meteorological data or
that simulated by general circulation meteorological models
based on increases in atmospheric CO2 predicted by the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The findings
of this research have many different applications, especially
to support wildfire hazard management, to gain insight into
biosphere-atmosphere interactions (water and carbon fluxes, air
quality) and to assess ecosystem vulnerability.

The Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology
develops tools for modelling the functioning of soil-plant systems
based on geostatistics and landscape ecology modelling methods.
Daily water stress maps can thus be produced on different scales.
The initial data are essentially derived from digital elevation
models and soil maps from which a continuous spatial map of the
soil water retention properties can be plotted. Vegetation maps,
combined with remote sensing products, NDVI or percentage
tree cover, are used to model plant system functioning according
to rooting depths, species’ maximum potentials for water
extraction and leaf areas. Finally an automatic method for spatial
interpolation of daily climatic data, using data from weather
stations and digital elevation models, was developed. This takes
the fine scale topography into account to draw up continuous
maps of climatic variables.

From A.V. Lavoir 2008

Terrestrial Mediterranean ecosystem dynamics and functioning
are overwhelmingly controlled by the highly unpredictable
rainfall regime. Water stress hampers transpiration, carbon
assimilation, volatile organic compound emission and organic
matter decomposition. This stress determines the extent
of plant species’ survival or replacement and impacts the
wildfire intensity and frequency. On landscape and regional
scales, topoedaphic (soil and relief), climatic and biotic (species
distribution) variability induces marked spatial heterogeneity in
the water stress. Moreover, due to temporal irregularities in the
water cycle, a daily resolution must be adopted to map these
water stress dynamics.

21

Spatial analysis and spatiotemporal modelling methods

DOMINO project:
companion modelling
to debate land allocation
Participatory territorial management involves interactions
among different stakeholders with various views on social and
ecological systems and their underlying processes. The DOMINO
project was developed by UPR GREEN with the aim of enabling
stakeholders to explain and share their views so as to facilitate
the coordination of land allocation processes. The ‘companion
modelling’ approach (as defined by the ComMod charter,
www.commod.org) was tested in two different socio-institutional
settings, in Réunion and in Senegal, thus providing an opportunity
to assess its adaptability to different contexts.
In Réunion, the territorial planning documents of the Region,
of the inter-communal bodies and of the municipalities were all
under revision. The issue was to build a dynamic information
system based on a consistent set of geographical data provided
by different institutions. Development agents and researchers
designed, hand-in-hand, an integrated simulation model that was
used to illustrate the long-term impact on land-use patterns of
the various prospective scenarios of the regional development
scheme.

In Senegal,
the emerging
Guiers Lake
management
plan was on
hold. Information on land is scarce, there is no coordination among
stakeholders, and the local institutions struggle in carrying out their
assigned tasks. An ad hoc users’ committee was therefore set up to
work with the project, and trained on interpreting and producing
cartographic data. Researchers developed dynamic tools ranging
from role-playing games to economic models to address various
land issues at different scales. Some tools were tested and validated
by the user’s committee.
The DOMINO project showed that a ComMod approach can
take into account a range of management levels and essential data
to facilitate management of land allocation processes. It led to
their effective integration in the tools, and to the implication of
stakeholders at different levels of territorial management, from the
tool design stage to the implementation phase.
Contacts: Grégoire Leclerc, gregoire.leclerc@cirad.fr
William’s Daré, william.dare@cirad.fr
& Aurélie Botta, aurelie.botta@cirad.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

For further information on the open
modelling platforms developed by
GREEN, see http://cormas.cirad.fr
and http://sourceforge.net/projects/
mimosa and the ComMod companion
modelling network website:
www.commod.org.

22

Developing research and
tools on the hydrology of
cultivated environments
The Laboratoire d’étude des
Interactions Sol - Agrosystème Hydrosystème (UMR LISAH, INRA,
IRD, Montpellier SupAgro) conducts
research on the hydrology of cultivated
environments, focused specifically on:
enhancing knowledge on erosion,
water and material transfers and the
fate of pollutants (pesticides and
metals) in soils and rural catchments as
a function of their spatial organization
and temporal variation patterns
developing tools to assess and
prevent risks induced by human
activities (cultivated environments) and

their impacts on hydrological systems
and the evolution of water and soil
resources
contributing to the development of
new sustainable management strategies
for rural areas
training students on analysis and
modelling concepts and tools for
hydrology and cultivated environments.
LISAH’s scientific approach is
based on hydrological field studies
and experiments, methodological
research for the acquisition and
processing of spatial data on soils and
landscape and on the development of
‘distributed hydrological modelling’
approaches geared towards mapping
the specific heterogenous features of
rural landscapes. LISAH manages an
environmental research observatory
(Observatoire Méditerranéen de
l’Environnement Rural et de l’Eau,
OMERE, see p. 32), which was set up to
analyse the impact of human activities
on the physical and chemical erosion
of Mediterranean soils and on water
quality. In terms of geoinformation for
environment and territories,

LISAH is currently focusing research on
digital soil mapping, including the use of
hyperspectral images, spatialization of
linear elements in rural landscapes (see
p. 11), spatialization of soil maintenance
practices in vineyards in Languedoc
region (France, see p. 39), digital
mapping of agricultural landscapes for
hydrological modelling (see p. 24), and
spatialization of the water status of vine
crops on the basis of thermal infrared
images.
UMR LISAH is based at the Gaillarde
agricultural research campus in
Montpellier (France), and also in several
Mediterranean countries (Morocco,
Tunisia), within the framework of
collaborations with agricultural research
and higher educational institutions in
these countries, including the Institut
agronomique et vétérinaire Hassan II in
Rabat (Morocco), the Institut national
de recherche du génie rural et des eaux
et forêts and the Institut national
agronomique in Tunis (Tunisia). 

Sustainable development–a key concept that took shape and
was promoted globally during the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro (1992)–integrates environmental, economic and social
components. An interdisciplinary approach is essential to be
able to take these three analytical dimensions into full account
and participate in the evaluation and orientation of development
policies.
In this setting, a multidisciplinary team (US ESPACE) studies the
complexity of resource management and spatial distribution
via the landscape, which is considered as: (a) a marker of
economic, social and environmental dynamics in territories;
and (b) a revealer of new local/global relationships inherent to
globalization.
Methods developed in different territories within developing
countries have been used to design spatial indicators of the state
of territories and inhabitants’ living conditions, thus highlighting
the importance of landscape in space/resource/use interactions.
These studies were focused on the impact of public policies
on biodiversity in Amazonian forests (BIODAM/IFB) and on

coral reefs around Réunion (AGIL, VALSECOR), the risk of land
degradation in dry areas in circum-Saharan Africa (ROSELT/
OSS) and in the Pacific Island region (GERSA/FFEM-CI), as well
as health risks in humid American forests (ROVERTA/CNRS,
EDCTA/IRD-CNPq).
This team aims to highlight the complementarity of these
methods in order to broaden the fields of application and
stimulate joint involvement of social science, economy, biomedical
and natural science researchers in an integrative spatialization
approach (multi-spatial and multi-temporal scales). The objective
is to produce territorial diagnoses and forecasts at the interface
between research, civil society and decisionmakers that could
be used to guide development projects. This production will
fuel environmental observatories devoted to sustainable
development.
Contacts: Maud Loireau, loireau@mpl.ird.fr
Anne-Elisabeth Laques, anne-elisabeth.laques@univ-avignon.fr
& Gilbert David, gilbert.david@ird.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Interdisciplinarity and spatial indicators to
support sustainable development in developing countries

W Example of a digital chart of a vineyard
landscape for hydrological modelling obtained
with Geo-MHYDAS.

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Digital mapping of agricultural landscapes
for hydrological modelling

24

Controlling floods and water erosion, assessing, preserving and
restoring the quality of water and soil resources, and evaluating
environmental risks associated with land use are key environmental
and agricultural challenges in the current setting of high population
growth and cropping intensification. Distributed hydrological
models are essential tools for gaining insight into hydrological
processes in catchments and for predicting the impact of changes
on the response of these catchments.
To represent the transfer of water and waterborne substances in
agricultural catchments, digital landscape maps are required that
take all elements in the landscape that may have an impact on
these transfers into account. Different sources of geoinformation
(topography, soil maps, presence of water bodies, plot patterns,
crop species, plot management strategies) must be combined in
such representations, as well as natural (streams) and humaninduced (earth banks, ditches, edges of crop fields) discontinuities
that could have a major impact on water transfers.

As part of its research on modelling the hydrology of small
cultivated catchments, UMR LISAH has developed Géo-MHYDAS,
which is an original three-step procedure for agricultural landscape
delimitation and characterization. In the first step, geographical
features of potentially different natures and sizes (soil units,
subcatchments, farming plots, ditch networks, etc.) are imported.
In the second step, all of this geoinformation is combined to create
uniform hydrological units, while preserving the initial features
but remaining compatible with the water transfer functions of
the hydrological model, and with the user maintaining control
over the hierarchical order so as to be able to combine the
features according to his/her specific objectives. In the third step,
an application-oriented topology is created to be able to simulate
water flows through the landscape during the actual hydrological
modelling phase. The original feature of Géo-MHYDAS is that it can
take a broad range of different agricultural landscape characteristics
into account while not classifying them only on a topographical
basis.
Contacts: Philippe Lagacherie, lagache@supagro.inra.fr
Michael Rabotin, rabotin@supagro.inra.fr
François Colin, colinf@supagro.inra.fr
Roger Moussa, moussa@supagro.inra.fr
& Marc Voltz, voltz@supagro.inra.fr

Studies of many important issues that society faces today
are based on a modelling approach. Insight is required prior
to action–whether it concerns the emergence and spread
of diseases associated with new environmental conditions,
rapid transformations in urban areas, or the degradation of
natural ecosystems and biodiversity loss. For a given issue:
What are the key elements that make up the landscape?
How do they interact? How does the landscape function
and evolve as a system? As such systems can usually not be
experimentally investigated in the field, studies often rely on
computerized modelling, despite the inherent problems of
spatial representation, time management and multiple spatial
and temporal scales.
New tools are sought to solve these problems, such as a
language specifically developed for modelling landscapes and for
simulating their dynamics. The language elements should help
scientists to accurately describe the composition of landscapes,
to express the relations between their components, to specify
how they evolve in time and to generate simulations according

to different experimental scenarios (e.g. a change in landuse legislation). In addition to the language, by this approach
landscape elements, called ‘primitives’, can be compiled in
libraries. Users have access to these libraries and are able
to assemble the primitives required for modelling a given
landscape.
This research is being conducted within the framework of
the Spatial, Temporal and Multi-scale Primitives for Modelling
Dynamic Landscapes (STAMP) project (2008-2010) supported
by the French Research Agency’s Programme Blanc (i.e. open to
all disciplines). Researchers from UMR TETIS and AMAP, the
Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique
(INRIA) and the University of Marne-la-Vallée, along with
scientists from a range of disciplines (epidemiology, agronomy,
ecology, etc.) are jointly involved in this project.
Contacts: Pascal Degenne, pascal.degenne@cirad.fr
& Danny Lo Seen danny.lo_seen@cirad.fr

All information systems include managerial and
organizational aspects which underlie their creation,
along with computer technology aspects. A system may
therefore be oriented according to two standpoints, i.e.
depending on the typology and nature of the information
circulating between individuals, or on the system’s
architecture, which facilitates information exchange and
storage.
The typology of information systems is broad ranging.
A few that are devoted to the environment are (but this
list is not exhaustive):
 technical information systems in which observation
services supported by sensor networks may be classified
 organizational information services that enable some
organizations to structure their information, such as
environmental research observatories serving the
scientific community
 information systems that are supported by informal
networks in which information circulates and which can
provide support for territorial projects
 information systems devoted to both monitoring and
decision support, which could be called ‘observatories’.

Some Agropolis teams focus research on methods
concerning resource management and environmental
change issues. Information systems developed in this
framework should account for the complexity of the
issues in terms of the diverse range of stakeholders and
spatiotemporal scales. In a multi-institutional setting,
the representations that stakeholders have of the same
system (e.g. a territory) and their motives for subscribing
to a common information sharing objective are wide
ranging, and data heterogeneity is high (nature, format,
scale, etc.).
Observatories represent a specific instance of
information systems. They are set up to observe
(monitor, analyse, understand), within a spatial area
representative of a territorial entity targeted for research,
socio-environmental dynamics resulting from dynamic
interactions of socioeconomic and biophysical systems.
These are sites for the production, exchange and sharing
of information and knowledge with a long-term scope.
They thus require methods specifically adapted to the
management of cumulative data processes (sustainability,
replication, storage, etc.) and of knowledge building
processes (sharing, exchange, interaction, etc.).
This chapter highlights–through a selection of
representative examples–how the teams are involved
in upstream and follow-up research activities to
facilitate efficient operation of information systems
and observatories in many areas throughout the world:
needs analysis, specification and instrumentation. It
also showcases the diverse range of uses, depending
on whether the focus is on knowledge production,
information management and sharing or supporting
decisionmaking processes. It reveals the challenges faced
with respect to successfully integrating the range of
different stakeholders and their views, taking the different
spatial and temporal aspects of information into account,
representing its complexities, managing uncertain data
aspects, mobilizing and combining many different data
sources, etc.
Thérèse Libourel (LIRMM),
Maud Loireau (US ESPACE)
& Michel Passouant (UMR TETIS)

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

n information system is a scientific, technical
and institutional platform that binds links
within a community (companies, public
institutions, research groups, territorial associations,
etc.) via information. The aim is to build knowledge and
to participate in coordination and negotiation between
stakeholders concerned about a specific territorial
or societal issue. The system, which pools structured
human and material resources, organises and integrates
data acquisition, processing, management, sharing and
dissemination via given reproducible protocols. These
functionalities are tailored to specific needs, such as
knowledge building, coordination or negotiation between
stakeholders.

Geological risk studies
and prevention
Géosciences Montpellier (CNRS,
UM2) pools Earth scientists and a
broad range of research resources
in a single laboratory. Geodynamics
–from the nano to the plate
scale–are pivotal to the research,
which is conducted using tectonic,
geochemical, geochronological,
geodesic and sedimentological tools.
Geodynamics concern the different
Earth envelopes, from the deepest to
the surface, through the lithosphere,
and interactions with the mantle.
The team’s expertise, derived from
fundamental research, is utilized
in studies carried out along several
targeted research lines, in the fields
of natural hazards (earthquakes,
landslides, near-shore erosion,
heavy rain storms), geological
reservoirs (sedimentary architecture,
fracturing, fluid transfer, mineral
physics), environment and
sustainable development (CO2
sequestration, geothermal resources,
subsurface hydrodynamics, water
resources: stock assessment, transfer
monitoring and quality). Most
of these research topics require
continuous or recurrent observation
of physical parameters, in addition
to laboratory analysis and modelling

of the underlying processes.
Most of the instrument-equipped
Mediterranean sites monitored are
located in Languedoc-Roussillon
region (France).
In the laboratory, geoinformation is
used to study and prevent geological
hazards through, for instance, fault
and landslide detection surveys.
The techniques implemented
include synthetic aperture radar
interferometry (INSAR) and
correlation of high resolution
optical satellite and aerial images.
The laboratory places priority
on investigating hazard zones
where earth movements can be
measured continuously (interseismic
deformations, slow landslides) or on
a disaster-event basis (earthquakes,
avalanches). It has a library of
images on key sectors, so it is
prepared to study ‘before-and-after
deformations’ in natural disaster
situations.
Géosciences Montpellier devotes
research to enhancing knowledge in
the internal and external dynamics
of planet Earth, while also addressing
societal issues through natural
hazard assessment, management of
mineral resources (geological fluids)
and the environment.

Software engineering
and information systems
The Montpellier Laboratory
of Informatics, Robotics and
Microelectronics (LIRMM, CNRS,
UM2) offers a broad scope of expertise
in the fields of information science
and technology, communication and
systems (STICS). The laboratory’s
research is multifaceted, i.e. theory,
tools, experiments and applications,
in all of its specialized scientific
domains. This research is carried out
in three departments: Informatics
(INFO), Microelectronics (MIC) and
Robotics (ROB).
Data Object Components for Complex
Systems is one of the project teams
in the Informatics department. This
team’s research involves cooperation
in two fields, i.e. software engineering

(components and objects) and
information systems, while also
being oriented towards modelling
and engineering of complex systems
in various application domains
(chemistry, life science, environmental
science, robotics).
The research is focused on the
contribution of object modelling in
developing highly expressive data
and processing models, while also
integrating the evolution concept.
Because of the variety and volume of
cumulated information, and beyond
the problem of system continuity,
scientists in these domains have to
deal with the issue of information
sharing and dissemination–to put
it simply, relevant information
must be ‘served’ to users. Designing
mediation infrastructures is a
challenge. Based on metadata and
ontological concepts, the goal is to

build real systems that integrate
the semantics of the underlying
data and processing domain. This
topic concerns integration and
mediation infrastructures tailored to
the concerned domains. There are
many mixed and distributed initial
data sources. They can be located
at a meta level that includes the
semantic description of the domain
(metadata and ontologies). These
different research thrusts were
developed through the involvement
of LIRMM within the Geographic
Information Systems, Methodologies
and Applications (GDR SIGMA, CNRS)
research group. 

In order to respect the independence
of organizations and their information
production, collaborative knowledge building
and data distribution and processing are broad
areas of debate and the focus of research
in the field of information and knowledge
systems. This research generates operational
solutions through the development of ‘building
block software’ tools required to create data
infrastructures.

29

Information systems and observatories

Methods for the design
and analysis of territorial
information systems

The joint research unit (UMR) TETIS conducts research on
information system concepts, formalisms, design and setup
methods by implementing them using specially tailored computer
tools. For instance, in collaboration with UMR G-EAU, it has
developed a new participatory approach for building observatories
in given territories to fulfil the needs of a collective action targeting
a specific issue. Between 2005 and 2007, a test was carried out
in two areas of France: Aume-Couture Basin (Charente region)
where quantitative water management was the key concern to
deal with, and Hien Valley (Isère region), where biodiversity and
water quality were the issues. Concerned rural stakeholders’
organizations were queried to establish the base of an information
system. There are four steps to this iterative approach: statement
of requirements, representation of viewpoints, development of the
computer application and use of the resulting information system.

From Lemoisson P. et al., 2008.

In an ever-changing rural world, sharing targeted, reliable, updated
information tailored to specific issues is a key element for
territorial development. This is true regardless of the aim, i.e.
to gain insight into territorial dynamics, coordinate agricultural
practices, characterize and manage flood hazards, control pollution
or restore the ecological balance of rivers, etc.

S Spiral observatory design pattern.
Long-term representation and capitalization of knowledge used
during the development of information systems is another example
of the unit’s research. A case-tool, which was initially set up for the
modelling and development of computer applications, was modified to
focus on adding pictograms of spatial and temporal concepts used in
observatories.The functions developed in this case-tool automatically
enhanced the models developed during the analysis as a function
of the spatial and temporal concepts introduced.Automation of
model enrichment boosts the speed, traceability, quality, reliability and
improves the efficiency of information system development processes.
Contacts: André Miralles, andre.miralles@teledetection.fr
& Michel Passouant, michel.passouant@cirad.fr

Complicated negotiation between
three urban sellers and a rural charcoal
producer (sitting) in Mali.

Role playing games used
in preliminary analysis of
a participatory GIS
for concerted management

Geoinformation and Earth Observation ...

GIS tools have been substantially criticized for being inaccessible to
citizens and mainly available for the use of public authorities. Over the
last 15 years, research has been under way with the aim of designing
participatory GIS that could bring together different partners (especially
basic communities) for spatial decisionmaking. This concept is still
relatively vague and methods for designing such systems have not been
formalized.
In this new research field, CIRAD (UPR Forest Resources and Public
Policies), in collaboration with the Malian forestry administration,
launched companion research with the aim of building a participatory
GIS with all stakeholders of the fuelwood supply subsector in Bamako.
There is a very high number of stakeholders in this subsector, sometimes with antagonistic goals, with marked differences in information
access. This research is based on the hypothesis that GIS, which is considered as an intermediate tool that can be used to collectively
build a shared vision of the Bamako wood energy supply area, could facilitate stakeholder coordination and thus enhance forest resource
management.
The selected approach is based on a role playing game and is similar to a scenario-based needs approach. It is aimed at encouraging
stakeholders in the profession to describe their views on GIS, thus to express their needs, goals and the pathway that should be taken
to achieve them. The game enables different stakeholders to be full-fledged protagonists of a simulated information system. They are
introduced to the situation in a structured area (room) as information users, vectors and producers. The experiment highlights the
efficacy of the game with respect to explaining viewpoints, analysing needs and documenting information sharing strategies. It boosts the
prospects for designing information systems in relatively unstructured organizations.

These tools are designed for:
 farmers wishing to more efficiently manage the growth of
their crops on a plot level
 extension services to tailor their technical advice
 industrial stakeholders to enhance production system
operation (supply, volumes to process, optimal dates for technical
interventions, etc.)

 institutions so that they will have a more accurate idea of
the production capacities per commodity channel and be able
to calculate the amount of assistance needed (price guarantees,
natural disasters, etc.)
 research organizations.
These tools are now integrated into a modular system that
can be implemented by a broad range of users thanks to new
information and communication technologies.
TSIGANE is an online information platform that combines
different components specifically designed for:
 management of climatic information
 management and dissemination of agricultural data on a perplot basis (GIS and web mapping)
 harvest forecasting
 crop growth simulation
 satellite image based mapping for harvest monitoring.
Other research-generated components could potentially be
integrated into this scalable platform.
Contact: Jean-Baptiste Laurent,
jean-baptiste.laurent@cirad.fr
For further information on the TSIGANE platform (Online technology and
geographic information systems for crop management): http://tsigane.teledetection.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Agricultural production must be managed at a larger scale
than individual plots in order to be cost-effective and comply
with regulations. Farmers are thus faced with the problem of
overcoming many constraints to optimize their production. The
internal research unit (UPR) Annual Cropping Systems (CIRAD)
is striving to facilitate farmers’ task by developing support tools
for the management of crop production on a regional scale
based on geographic information:
 an information system, connected to models developed
through research, containing administrative, agronomic, climatic
and production data for a broad range of agricultural plots
 an online cartographic server that enables data restoration
in the form of maps containing raster data (satellite images,
orthophotos, etc., as well as crop growth or harvest monitoring
maps), vectorial data (plots, roads, etc.) and attributary data
(yield, harvest dates, area, etc.).

LEIS-ROSELT combines GIS and generic models
in the ArcGIS platform for the assessment of
environmental vulnerability utilizing minimal data
and calculating synthetic spatial indices of land
degradation risks. The temporal results are
comparable between observatories. The
models are tailored to dry areas where there
are marked nature/society interactions,
with high spatial and temporal variability
and where resources are simultaneously or
successively tapped for various end uses. By
changing the input parameters, long-term
forecast maps may be produced to facilitate
discussions with resource managers.
The thematic guides are open-ended scientific
documents that are shared within the network. They
are designed to enable users to gradually organize the
streamlined monitoring system by topic (nature/societies), thus
ensuring the synchronous and diachronous approach of ROSELT.
The recommended sampling data collection and processing
methods can be implemented to develop specific indicators for
each topic and indicators adapted to the interdisciplinary spatial
approach applied in the LEIS.
Contacts: Maud Loireau, maud.loireau@mpl.ird.fr
& Jean-Christophe Desconnets, jcd@teledetection.fr
For further information on the ROSELT/OSS network: www.oss-online.org
For further information on MDweb: www.mdweb-project.org

Systematic observation of the natural environment and its
use by humans is essential for studying global changes and
natural hazards. Observatories are collaborative structures
supported by research units that define the features to be
observed, implement the observation techniques and design the
information systems. Autonomous flexible structures governed
by all stakeholders through ad hoc committees ensure their
sustainability and missions. These units are the main observatory
developers and users. The observation products are sometimes
also useful for other stakeholders (territorial communities,
public and private partners). Many observatories are
associated with these other stakeholders, or even developed in
collaboration with them. This is a long-term approach (spanning
more than 10 years).

The Mediterranean region is both a victim and witness of
hazards and global changes. This area is marked by serious land
instability, where water can be considered as both a hazard
(extremely heavy rainfall, flooding) and a rare and hard to utilize
resource, as well as a biodiversity hotspot. Several regional
observatories are devoted to the observation of Mediterranean
natural and man-made environments:
 The Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Environnement Rural et
de l’Eau (LISAH, HydroSciences Montpellier, etc.) focuses on

Mediterranean cultivated systems that can be studied for many
reasons: the hydrological setting, i.e. at the interface of arid and
temperate environments, while being subjected to a broad range
of hydrological processes (severe drought, extreme flooding,
etc.); the social and human setting in which, after thousands of
years of human activities, major changes are taking place as a
result of rapid population growth.
 The Observatoire Hydro-Météorologique méditerranéen CévennesVivarais is striving to boost knowledge and prediction capacities
on hydrometeorological hazards associated with intense rain
storms and flash floods by pooling the expertise of researchers
in various fields. This observatory is managed by the Laboratoire
d’étude des Transferts en Hydrologie et Environnement (Grenoble)
in collaboration with many other laboratoires (Géosciences
Montpellier, HydroSciences Montpellier, ESPACE, EMA).
 The Observatoire de Recherche Méditerranéen de
l’Environnement (OSU-OREME) monitors the natural
environment while mobilizing researchers from various
complementary disciplines to assess the impact of global climate
change and natural hazards on Mediterranean environments.
Géosciences Montpellier, HydroSciences Montpellier, CEFE, ISEM,
ECOLAG and CBAE are the main developers and users.
Contact: Nicolas Arnaud, nicolas.arnaud@gm.univ-montp2.fr

SEASnet: a network of environmental observatories
to support sustainable development
ne
AS
SE

t

D
There are many
IR
application fields
(fisheries, coastal areas,
turbidity in the Amazon
River, etc.) concerning
terrestrial, coastal and
even pelagic oceanic
areas. Over the last
decade, this scientifically
high value-added
observatory activity
has been carried out in
partnership with space
agencies (ESA, CNES,
NASA). It is aimed at
contributing to spatial environment monitoring initiatives
on regional, European and international levels, including the
Observatoire National sur les Effets du Réchauffement Climatique
(ONERC), the African Monitoring of the Environment for
Sustainable Development (AMESD) programme, etc.

Madagascar

Surface
temperatures

Thermal
fronts

S Examples of surface water data acquired
in the vicinity of Madagascar.
Temperatures on the left and thermal fronts
(temperature gradients) on the right.
Based on the successful experience of the Surveillance de
l’Environnement Assistée par Satellites (SEAS) network, which was
launched more than 15 years ago in the Indian Ocean region, the
service unit ESPACE (IRD) has installed several environmental
satellite receiving stations with wide field-of-view antennas and
is using the received images in its own research programmes as
well as partnership research programmes.
Receiving stations of IRD and its local partners (University of Las
Palmas, Polynesian Fisheries Service) are set up throughout the
intertropical region (Réunion, Canary Islands, New Caledonia,
French Guiana, Tahiti). They belong to SEASnet and operate
as environmental observatories. They continuously generate
scientifically validated spatial thematic products (water surface
temperatures and turbidity, vegetation conditions, etc.) that are
available online.

This concept of a network with geographically dispersed
expertise differs from regular centralized usage with
single satellite data acquisition and global processing sites.
Conversely, by allowing each station to build a regional
borderless advanced technology area, SEASnet is complying
closely with the recommendations outlined in the Rio
Declaration. In 2006, a high resolution SPOT and ENVISAT
satellite receiving station was set up in Cayenne on the basis
of SEASnet concepts. A similar project is also under way in
Réunion.
Contacts: Michel Petit, michel.petit@ird.fr
& Antonio Gonzàlez Ramos, aramos@pesca.gi.ulpgc.es
For further information: www.seasnet.org and www.gobiernodecanarias.org

s population growth, climate change and the
impact of human activities on ecosystems
increase, sustainable management of our
environment and its renewable resources–especially
food–is crucial. This requires being able to describe the
past and current state of the environment, understand
the underlying processes and simulate management
scenarios by predicting how it could evolve under the
impact of human pressure.

A

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Continental surfaces form a spatially complex system
resulting from a combination of features, including the
geology, topography, soils, climate, fauna, flora and human
land-use patterns. This extremely high spatial variability
occurs on all scales: plant, farm plot, small region, country
and continent. Besides this spatial structure, temporal
changes also take place on different scales: daily cycle,
meteorological event, season, and longer term climate
change. This trend also applies to oceans, seas and
continental waters, whose characteristics vary markedly
on spatial and temporal levels.

36

It is essential to have access to methods for spatial
description of the environment and also for organizing
spatial information of different types and origins. Remote
sensing techniques, geographic information systems (GIS)
and spatial modelling techniques are favoured tools for
this. Moreover, it is necessary to describe and gain insight
into the evolution of these spatial variables–this is the
focus of dynamic modelling studies supported by remote
sensing data.
In the renewable resources field presented in this
chapter–agriculture, forestry, ecosystems and fisheries
resources–variables that characterize studied
environments must first be determined spatially:
topography, soils (mineralogy, humidity, surface state),
vegetation (type, status, growth and development, height,
solar radiation interception and albedo), landscape spatial

organization (plot patterns, ditch networks), cropping
practices (management strategies, tillage operations,
pesticide treatments), water temperature, nutrients
and plankton for fisheries resources. Furthermore,
it is essential to gain insight into temporal changes
that most of these variables undergo. In a number of
these cases, this spatial information is used directly for
management purposes (precise agricultural techniques,
harvest management in cropping areas, controlling
nonpoint source pollution). Moreover, this information
is often used as parameters or inputs for models
describing processes under way in target environments
(crop models, hydrological models, surface-atmosphere
exchange models).
Due to the complexity in the spatial organization
of terrestrial environments–especially cultivated
landscapes–there is an urgent need for spatial information
representation and processing methods. GIS technology
is widely implemented to combine spatial information
of different types and origins in the fields of agriculture
and ecosystem characterization. In addition to this
conventional use, there are more specific needs, such
as the application of spatial modelling to simulate an
entire area based on information acquired in just a small
part of this area, especially when other parts of the
area are hard to monitor, for mapping purposes (spatial
interpolation techniques, spatial stochastic simulations).
Finally, substantial lateral flows run through these highly
heterogeneous environments: water transfers via runoff,
stream flow, groundwater movements, atmospheric
gas and particle transport (pollen, pesticides, etc.).
Spatial characterization of these environments and flow
modelling are required to represent these flows–which is
a current focus of active research.
Laurent Prévot (UMR LISAH)
& Jean-Baptiste Laurent (UPR SCA)

Monitoring sugarcane harvests
in Réunion via satellite images
The regional productivity of the sugar industry is dependent on the sugarcane harvesting
efficiency, i.e. regular supplies of sugarcane to sugar factories and effective geographical
distribution of harvesting equipment and resources. In French overseas departments
and many producing countries (South Africa,Vietnam, etc.), a large portion of sugarcanegrowing areas is managed by thousands of small-scale farmers growing cane on barely a
hectare of land. In such conditions, it is hard to obtain reliable and thorough information
on harvestable sugarcane areas, their geographical distribution and harvesting progress
rates.
To address this concern, the SUCRETTE (SUivi de la Canne à sucRE par TélédéTEction)
project, coordinated by CIRAD and SPOT Image, has developed a method for processing
SPOT 4 and 5 images to generate maps of harvests in near-real time during harvesting
periods.
The classification of sugarcane plots extracted from satellite images is based on the high
spectral contrast between the standing plant cover, the crop-residue covered ground
(after sugarcane harvesting) and bare soil (crop residue burnt, soil tilled for replanting).
Statistical indicators of harvest areas and rates are thus calculated at different geographical
scales (delivery centre, sugarcane-growing area, factory, region) in order to provide
decisionmakers with elements that they require to adjust their production forecasts and
harvest logistics.
In Réunion, CIRAD supplies its partners with four sugarcane monitoring maps per harvest
season: a month after the beginning of harvesting, at mid-season, a month prior to the
end of the season and postharvest. This enables them to estimate the annual unharvested
sugarcane area.
An online information system (see TSIGANE system, p. 31) is being developed to support
this type of tool, to automate treatments and to provide all stakeholders in this subsector
with access to the results.
Contact: Pierre Todoroff, pierre.todoroff@cirad.fr

Mapping agricultural
intensification patterns
in Senegal and production modelling
Agricultural production forecasting is a keystone of early drought warning
systems in Sudanian-Sahelian regions where climate change has a heavy impact.
The aim of this project is to improve the production forecasting capacity by
characterizing agricultural landscape variability via remote sensing. It addresses
two questions:
 How can this variability be expressed on different scales?
 How can it be taken into account to improve yield estimations?
Agricultural landscape descriptions are based on the characterization of landuse patterns through the analysis of spectral, spatial and temporal information
derived from remote sensing images. The data and methods should be tailored
to semiarid environments and to their heterogeneous mosaic patterns
(rangelands, crops, wooded savannas, etc.), while also being adapted to the
economic conditions in these regions (low-cost monitoring). MODIS and SPOT
VEGETATION images were used for this study.
Initial results have been obtained for Senegal (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary
Analysis [AMMA] European Integrated Project, 2005-2009) by combining
thematic information from different sources with time-series SPOT
VEGETATION and MODIS satellite images. A first ‘stratification’ phase involves
delimitation of homogenous agroecological zones by visual analysis of thematic
maps (heterogeneous in terms of dates, media, etc.) describing the soil, relief,
vegetation and climatic features. A second ‘classification’ phase is focused within
each of these zones, and then photointerpretation of each class is done using
SPOT set images (high resolution) and monitoring the normalized difference
vegetation index (NDVI) on MODIS time series (NDVI is used to monitor plant
phenology). Finally the crop land-use rates are mapped (classification at three
levels: absence, >50%, >80%) by analysing, per pixel, decadal NDVI time series
datasets derived from the satellite images.
Temporal changes in types of land use will be the focus of further studies.
Contacts: Christian Baron, christian.baron@cirad.fr
Agnès Bégué, begue@teledetection.fr
& Danny Lo Seen, loseen@teledetection.fr

The results revealed that coconut plantations could be clearly
identified on the images and classified according to age.The main
agroforestry types were recognized and mapped using a texture-based
classification, thus enabling preliminary analysis of their layouts and
densities. A remote-sensing index was also developed to quantify the
canopy closure of the vegetation cover in relation to the complexity
of the associations present. However, this method was not suitable for

Spatialization of vineyard
weed control practices
in Languedoc (France)
Vineyard weed control practices represent an important
factor with respect to variations in flooding, soil erosion and
pesticide nonpoint source pollution hazards. These practices
are the result of decisions made by farmers on the basis of
various constraints and opportunities on different spatial
scales–from the plot to the production area–and at different
time steps. This results in a complex spatial and temporal
organization on a catchment scale, which must be monitored
to be able to assess the hazards.
On large spatial scales (several tens of km²), data required for
these risk assessments cannot be obtained by field surveys
or in-depth monitoring. The joint research unit (UMR) LISAH
thus decided to adopt another approach to analyse the spatial
organization of these agricultural practices in the Languedoc
vineyard region (France) so as to be able to locate and quantify
them.
Surveys of 65 wine growers in the lower Peyne Valley (80 km²),
representing 1460 vineyard plots, enabled the researchers to
draw up a typology of weed control practices that accounts for
herbicide treatment ranges and variations in the soil surface
states that determine the extent of runoff.
Multivariate analysis of the determinants of these practices and
their locations revealed a high spatial structure of practices
related with the communal locations of the plots.

A preliminary study was carried out by a CIRAD team from the joint
research units UMR SYSTEM and UMR TETIS on coconut-based
Melanesian agroforestry systems.This involved the combined use of
field data and very high spatial resolution satellite image information
to gain further insight into the intra-plot structure of these systems.
A QuickBird satellite image (processed at 0.65 m/pixel resolution,
multispectral [green, red, NIR bands]) covering a 64 km² area on Malo
Island (Vanuatu Archipelago) was thus acquired in 2003.

1. Monocropped coconut
plantation

Grass cover

S Example of maps showing the distribution of vineyard
maintenance practices in Peyne Valley, France (left),
and a spatial stochastic simulation (right).
The vineyard inter-row widths was the second influencing factor
of soil maintenance practices.
Finally, stochastic spatial simulations based on methods
for classifying these determinants, some of which could be
extracted by remote sensing (UMR TETIS collaboration),
generated realistic maps of weed control practices on a plot
scale for the entire lower Peyne Valley. These maps could be
used as inputs for distributed hydrological models to enable risk
assessment.
Contacts: Anne Biarnes, biarnes@supagro.inra.fr
Jean-Stéphane Bailly, bailly@teledetection.fr
& Philippe Lagacherie, lagache@supagro.inra.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation...

Many specific methodological problems arise when characterizing
and assessing complex cropping systems established on smallholders’
plots and based on various crop associations, e.g. fruit trees (coconut,
papaya, cocoa, banana, etc.) and vegetable gardens. Agronomists
are thus adopting new tools, such as geomatics, to enable them to
gain insight into these systems on different scales. Moderate spatial
resolution studies facilitate quantification of structures and their
temporal evolution on a regional level, whereas very high resolution
imagery can be used to refocus studies on a cultivated crop level.

fig orchards. An interdisciplinary research project involving
geneticists and ethnobiologists from CEFE, the joint research
unit (UMR) Développement et Amélioration des Plantes (INRA,
Morocco) and Abdelmalek Essaadi University (Tetouan,
Morocco), is focused on studying fig and olive tree domestication
processes from two angles: the layout of wooded landscapes
and the genetic structure of tree agrodiversity and associated
ethnobiological knowledge.

S Agrarian landscape with a high prevalence of fig and
olive trees in B’ni Ahmad region, northern Morocco.
Trees and forest components are structuring elements of different
types of Mediterranean agroecosystems, including chestnut
orchards in the Cevennes (France), argan groves in southwestern
Morocco, and orchards predominantly planted with fig and
olive trees in northern Morocco. The extension and regression
dynamics of these tree stands are associated with historical,
socioeconomic and political factors. Spatial and temporal
information analysis may be used to gain insight into these factors.
Northern Morocco (Tingitane Peninsula and Rif area) is a
remarkable region with respect to the expansion of olive and

GIS is an efficient analytical tool for comparing oral testimony
(ethnohistorical data) with political and historical data and to
gain insight into landscapes. The Spanish annexation of part of
northern Morocco had a positive impact on the extension of
these orchards (dissemination of new agricultural techniques,
plants, etc.). Similarly, at independence in 1956, historical data
suggests that inhabitants benefitted from a transition period to
extend their land rights by planting fig and olive orchards on
large tracts of land. Aerial photos taken at different periods
(pre- and post-independence) and old georeferenced military
maps are used for this analysis.
The project is currently pooling substantial georeferenced data
from the Rif area on intravarietal genetic variability in fig and
olive trees with the aim of gaining insight into the underlying
genetic structure. GIS will be used to facilitate comparisons with
ethnobiological data.
Contacts: Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas, yildiz.thomas@cefe.cnrs.fr
& Younes H’mimsa, hmimsa.younes@caramail.com

There is growing demand from stakeholders, territorial
authorities and technical services for spatial data,
information systems, indicators and simulation
models. This is a challenge for targeted research
on knowledge building processes and the
utilization of information in decisionmaking
tools.
To address this challenge, some research
lines of the scientific programme
of the international research unit
(URP) Pastoralism (CIRAD, Dry Zone
Pastoral Research Pole) are focused on
accounting for information and relevant
baseline data needs to be used in decision
support and resource management tools,
as well as on the participative construction
of indicators and shared use of information
systems.
Contact: Ibra Touré, ibra.toure@cirad.fr

S Participatory mapping workshop
based on the interpretation
of satellite images with herders.

Positive linear and statistically significant relationships were
documented between primary production and the small pelagic
fish catch, as well as between primary production and the total
catch. The results revealed that large-scale spatial variability in
primary production determines the spatial gradients of fisheries
production. This highlights the prevalence of a bottom-up
trophic (nutrition) linkage in European seas, i.e. the consistent
patterns (spatial structures) observed are associated with
energy transfers from biomass–produced during phytoplankton
photosynthesis activity–towards higher trophic levels by
predation along the food chain.

The results are important with respect to promoting an
ecosystem approach to fisheries, especially for estimating the
capacity of ecoregions to support sustainable fisheries. Our
Chlorophyll a
concentration (mg m )
findings are also relevant in the climate change framework as
they facilitate the assessment of variations in high trophic level
SMean daily surface chlorophyll concentration calculated species and in fisheries as a function of potential modifications in
from MODIS images (2002-2007 period). plankton communities due to global warming.
-3

A to M: ecoregions used for the calculation.

Combining satellite information on biological production in
oceans with global fisheries data was found to be especially
useful for detecting large-scale ecological patterns and testing
hypotheses on the structure and/or function of marine
ecosystems.

The productivity of the northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean,
Black Sea and Baltic Sea marine ecoregions was spatially
characterized on the basis of primary production (biomass) data
derived from a model based on satellite ‘ocean colour’ images and
fisheries catch data for the 1998-2004 period. The relationship
between marine productivity (phytoplankton, zooplankton,
etc.) and marine fisheries production (actual catch volumes) in
European seas was analysed in this study.

Contact: Emmanuel Chassot, emmanuel.chassot@ird.fr

As part of the European LIFE project ‘A Water Assessment
to Respect the Environment’ (AWARE), Cemagref has
developed new onboard equipment technology for monitoring
and recording pesticide application data. With this system,
treatments can be accurately monitored since it measures
and records application parameters every second with GPS
georeferencing. Collected traceability data (flow rates, tank
volumes, meteorological data, etc.) are analysed and compared
to declarative data so as to be able to propose wine growers
ways to improve their cropping practices.

A GIS enables collection and display of all data: catchment
delimitation, vineyard plots, river system, relief, pesticides
applied, etc., in order to produce maps and spatial analyses
on the concerned catchment. Rows in vineyard plots can be
accurately differentiated by GPS.
The system produces a set of objective data for automatic
treatment sheet printouts, including a graph of the plot on
which one of the measured (flow rates in l/min) or calculated
(e.g. vol/ha, wind speed and direction) parameters is displayed,
along with a written summary of the different parameters:
current sprayer settings, meteorological measurements, treated
area, number of rows treated, dosages used, etc.

With this tool, wine growers can calibrate their equipment daily
and monitor the meteorological conditions. Moreover, they
can detect malfunctions by viewing the equipment operation
parameters in real time.

nvironment management and biodiversity
conservation are universally considered as
priorities in the current setting of accelerating
global changes affecting physical and biological resources
on Earth. It is important to think before acting, but also
to understand before managing. Understanding the
functioning of continental and aquatic ecosystems is,
however, an uneasy task. It requires substantial time, many
observations, and experts from different scientific fields
to explain the underlying phenomena as accurately as
possible. Geoinformation is a keystone of this approach.

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

E

42

Several research teams based in Montpellier (France)
are working on formalizing knowledge on all physical,
biological and socioeconomic processes required for
sustainable natural resource management. They are
developing databases and models that bring together
acquired knowledge and facilitate hypothesis testing.
These have been initially designed as knowledge tools
that reflect specific aspects of studied systems, but they
can also guide resource managers in their initiatives.
To an increasing extent, these tools are based on
geoinformation acquisition and processing methods,
including remote sensing and geographic information
systems (GIS), in order to mobilize a diverse range
of data and account for their spatial and temporal
relationships. Remote sensing and GIS are thus widely
used in environmental sciences as they provide efficient
support for integrating information and cartographic
analysis.

The examples presented in this chapter illustrate the
close links between environmental data acquisition,
management and representation techniques, as well as
thematic research domains as broad ranging as water,
forestry and plant and animal biodiversity in terrestrial
and aquatic environments. Satellite image (low or high
resolution, optical or radar) processing is widely used
to characterize the distribution of research subjects
at different spatial and temporal scales. For instance,
this is the case in monitoring Andean glaciers, African
plant covers, toxic algal blooms in the Mediterranean,
environmental niches of disease-vector rodents in Asia,
coral ecosystems and oceanic eddies in association with
marine predator populations. Most of these studies
are also based on geographical database management
systems that enable mapping and analysis of spatial
interactions between the physical environment, the
living environment and climatic or human forcings.
This meshing of environmental data gives rise to a
different enhanced view of the underlying mechanisms
by promoting an interdisciplinary approach via spatial
dialogue. Researchers can thus gain insight into processes
and their spatial and temporal distribution, and more
effective explanatory models can be developed to guide
management, restoration and conservation strategies to
be implemented.
Nicole Pasteur (IFR BiodiversitĂŠ),
Denis Ruelland (HydroSciences Montpellier)
& Nicolas Arnaud (GĂŠosciences Montpellier)

S Example of habitat maps drawn up within the framework of a regional study on
marine turtles and seagrass beds in the Caribbean (extracted from Landsat images).

Remote sensing andthe biocomplexity
of coral ecosystems
Remote sensing applied to coral reef ecosystem biocomplexity focuses on biodiversity
quantification specifically using a habitat-based approach. The aim is also to gain insight
into processes that control and depend on this diversity, and its interaction with human
communities. This latter aspect includes sustainable use of biological resources and their
conservation.
Passive optical remote sensing is an effective observation tool for coral reef
ecosystems that are often located in tropical, shallow, hard to reach, clear-water coastal
environments. Spatial and airborne imagery, often combined with field observations, can
be used to develop multidisciplinary products and applications such as field sampling
designs, multi-thematic habitat maps, geomorphological atlases, bathymetric maps,
water quality maps, multisensor temporal monitoring, etc. This first line of descriptive
products provides decision support tools for managing communities of living organisms,
delineating marine protected areas, assessing fisheries stocks, modelling hydrodynamic
processes, monitoring reef systems impacted by high human pressure and global
warming.
The research unit (UR) CoRéUs conducts research on several Indo-Pacific sites. The
main sites are located in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Réunion,
Fiji,Vanuatu, Maldives and Madagascar. This research is carried out in close collaboration
with local and international operators. In addition, as spatial data is routinely available
for any site worldwide, the unit is a partner in scientific international research initiatives
(Australia, USA) and for marine resource management programmes, with a regional (e.g.
the Secretariat of the Pacific Community) and global scope (via the Millennium Coral
Reef Mapping Project, Mora et al., 2006).
Contact: Serge Andréfouët, serge.andrefouet@noumea.ird.nc

S Overlays (top) of sea level anomalies (SLA in cm, AVISO data)
and (bottom) surface chlorophyll levels (in log [mg.m-3], SeaWiFS data) with (dots)
the positions of tuna catches (A) and frigatebirds (B).
Red structures correspond to warm water anticyclonic eddies (converging at the surface),
chlorophyll-rich along their edges, and blue structures correspond to cold water cyclonic
eddies (divergent at the surface), chlorophyll-rich at the cores; the interface
between two eddies is also highly productive.

Mesoscale eddies and
top predator communities
in the Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (10-30°S/30-50°E) is a natural laboratory for research on
oceanic mesoscale eddies (50-300 km dia., lasting from one week to several months) and
their impact on top predator populations. Four to seven eddies (alternation of cyclonic
to anticyclonic) pass through the Channel each year. These eddies are detected mainly
by satellite radar altimetry (satellite measurement of local sea level heights). Spatial
descriptors of eddies and associated structures (fronts, filaments) have been used to
study their impact on tuna distributions.
Two types of tuna school indicators were used: tuna catch data and georeferencing of
frigatebirds fitted with transmitters. Frigatebirds, which are unable to dive, follow tuna
schools to feed on small animals hunted by these large marine predators, essentially
on the edges of eddies: their feeding strategy is tailored to small-sized habitats where
the probability of finding prey is high. These birds thus have a role as “sentinels enabling
greater insight into the evolution of marine ecosystem health” (F. Marsac).
Direct tuna catch observations (associated with the location of fishing boats) are
obtained at the periphery or core of eddies, where phytoplankton production is high.
Analysis of the spatial distribution of tuna schools based on these two types of indicator
revealed that these fish, just like other top predators (turtles, sea lions, etc.), can benefit
from eddies (core and periphery) for hunting. Mesoscale eddies can thus serve as
transient habitats for these large pelagic fish.
This example highlights the importance of detecting and characterizing oceanic eddy
structures in order to improve knowledge on offshore marine habitats and, finally, to
enhance the management of exploited fisheries resources.
Contacts: Émilie Tewkai, emilie.tewkai@ird.fr
& Francis Marsac, francis.marsac@ird.fr

Monitoring blooms of the toxic alga
Alexandrium catenella by satellite imagery
at three Mediterranean sites (Thau, Tarragona, Olbia)
Toxic algal blooms occur in all oceans and seas
worldwide, having major environmental and
socioecononomic impacts (often adverse for
aquaculture and recreational activities).

S Toxic algal blooms in Angle Creek, located on the northeastern side of the Thau Lagoon (Hérault, France).
This creek is the site of bloom onset, followed by propagation into the main part of the lagoon.

Satellite and airborne remote sensing is very effective for
overcoming these complications since it enables remote
monitoring and analysis of huge surface areas. The research
advantages of these technologies are multiplying with the regular
improvements being achieved in spatial and temporal resolutions.

Snow and ice

Snow and ice

The study highlighted the seasonality of the intra-annual evolution
in the snow-covered area: in summer (December-March), this
surface area retracted to 3 600 km² (corresponding to the
accumulation zone), with very few inter-annual variations during
this season, whereas the snow extension was much greater in
winter (up to 11 700 km²), with high inter-annual variations.

South America hosts many glaciers in the Andes Cordillera,
stretching from Colombia to Patagonia. In line with the global
trend, these glaciers are retreating, especially in the Patagonian
region of Campo de Hielo Norte (CHN), i.e. a 4 200 km² ice
field, whose surface area is diminishing in conjunction with the
accelerated retreat of glaciers that prevail in this region.
To get a clearer picture of the local climatic factors influencing
CHN glacier variations, the evolution of snow-covered areas in
this ice field was monitored over the 2000-2006 period based on
the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) applied to MODIS
satellite images.

This study suggested that snow cover on the western part
of CHN could melt more rapidly in response to the milder
temperatures, but the area could be quickly covered again with
more frequent and abundant snow falls.
Contact: Paulina Lopez, lopez@msem.univ-montp2.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Many members of the scientific community are now focusing
on gaining greater insight into the impact of climate change
on our planet. Melting of glaciers is one of the most obvious
consequences. Information acquisition is, unfortunately,
complicated by problems of access (steep reliefs) and the vastness
of glaciated areas.

Within the framework of companion research, CIRAD has been
involved for over 15 years in the development of remote sensing
methods to monitor forest cover and of GIS-based decision
support tools.
Because of the complexity of the objectives (especially reconciling
multiple uses), forest managers are hampered to an increasing
extent by the problem of translating their objectives and potential
management scenarios into a set of mathematical equations.
This difficulty is partly due to the fact that foresters are unable
to determine the state of a target system at any given time, and
to the imprecise or even intuitive nature of the decisionmaking
elements.

S Map interface of a support tool for forest
trail network planning.
Since the Earth Summit (Rio, 1992), principles that promote
ecologically sustainable management of tropical forest ecosystems
are widely recognized. In Central Africa, sustainable forest
management has become a key element of new forestry policies.
Over the last 10 years, geographic information processing tools
(GPS, image processing software and GIS) are widely used by
professional stakeholders and GIS has become an essential tool
for African forest managers.

The research under way is geared towards the development of
tools to support decisionmaking on planning forest trail networks,
on creating plot layouts, on designing ‘reduced impact’ logging
and on predicting stand growth. Because of the contextual limits
(acceptance and adoption by stakeholders) of automated and
mathematical optimization approaches, CIRAD aims to develop
interactive and semiautomated management support tools. GIS
software is a key tool for facilitating information integration and
cartographic analysis, while also serving as an interface between
users and automatic computation procedures.
Prototypes are currently being field tested in French Guiana,
Central African Republic and Gabon.
Contacts: Laurent Gazull, laurent.gazull@cirad.fr
& Guillaume Cornu, guillaume.cornu@cirad.fr

Satellite vegetation data as a tool for paleoecology
research in Central Africa

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Climate change and human activities can trigger flora and vegetation
structure modifications. In the Central African forest region,
paleoenvironmental research sites, where the evolution of the
vegetation cover and associated forcings over the last millenia can
be traced, may be represented by a few scattered dots on a map.
To reconstruct a regional history of the range and nature of the
forest, this point information should be interpolated via spatialization
of functional models that are able to deduce the features of plant
formations according to the climatic and pedological characteristics.

46

From the MODIS ‘Vegetation Continuous Field’ product

In Central Africa, outputs of these models can be interpreted in
terms of the vegetation structure, e.g. by assessing the total biomass,
the grass-tree cover distribution in savannas and the proportion
of deciduous tree cover in forest areas during the dry season. This
information on the actual vegetation status, which was for a long time
limited to small areas, is now available on a large scale via remote
sensing tools. These data (generally open source) are highly useful for
S Map of the dry and humid rainforest region based on floristic
the task set out by ISEM (Institute of Evolutionary Sciences, CNRS,
(phytogeographical domains identified by White, black lines)
associations
UM2) of integrating ecological and paleoecological knowledge on
or on the percentage deciduous tree cover (evergreen forest in dark
Central Africa: i) they compensate for the lack of field measurements
green, semideciduous in pale green).
to calibrate paleoenvironmental indices required to trace the history
of the vegetation structure; ii) they enable a regional comparison
between the vegetation patterns and phytogeographical domains, i.e. the distribution of floristic associations on which current vegetation
maps are based; iii) they provide a reference source for validating vegetation models; these latter could thus more accurately represent
the current situation before being used to reconstruct or predict past and future changes.
Contact: Charly Favier, charly.favier@univ-montp2.fr

Georeferenced taxonomy databases
on vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, mammals)
in the South of France
For three decades, the Ecology and Biogeography research team
of the École Pratique des Hautes Études (CEFE-EPHE) has been
centralizing information on vertebrates in southern France derived
from point observations by professional and amateur naturalists.
This information, which is now computerized and spatialized, can
be used to answer many scientific and operational questions.
From a scientific standpoint, many issues can be addressed
via these databases: How is biodiversity distributed in the
Mediterranean area? What factors best explain the observed
gradients? What changes have been under way in recent decades?
Hence, it is possible to monitor the progression of invasive species
(e.g. red-eared slider turtles, muskrats, painted frogs) and develop
strategies to control them or, conversely, to monitor the fate of
endangered heritage species that would warrant conservation
initiatives: otter, ocellated lizard, European pond turtle, etc.
From a more applied standpoint, these databases can be utilized
to fulfil many current biodiversity conservation requests: What
areas would warrant biodiversity preservation initiatives? In
what areas is there contention between economic development
and environmental protection? These databases are therefore
tapped by many French administrations and governmental
agencies (Direction Régionale de l’Environnement, Agence Régionale
de l’Environnement, general councils, etc.) responsible for the
protection of natural environments: setting up the Natura 2000
network, inventories of natural areas of ecological, faunistic and
floristic interest, acquisition policies for sensitive natural areas,

development of a regional biodiversity preservation strategy, etc.
They can also address wider scope requests such as monitoring
biodiversity on a national or European basis. These databases
should ultimately be merged with public databases that are being
developed on a French (Système d’Information sur la Nature et
les Paysages) and international (Global Biodiversity Information
Facility) scale.
Contacts: Marc Cheylan, marc.cheylan@cefe.cnrs.fr
Françoise Poitevin, francoise.poitevin@cefe.cnrs.fr
& Philippe Geniez, philippe.geniez@cefe.cnrs.fr

S Distribution range of the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) in the French Mediterranean region (red dots).

Ecology of rodent communities
and their pathogens in Southeast Asia
The high biodiversity that is known to prevail in Southeast Asia is currently threatened
by the rapid economic development and rising impact of human activities on ecosystems.
In this setting of harsh and radical environmental change, rodent populations, which
account for most of the vertebrate animal biomass present, are emerging as major vectors
of diseases (some of which can be fatal for humans, e.g. leptospirosis and scrub typhus) and
as crop pests.

This project, which is under way at eight research sites located in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, is aimed at characterizing processes that
contribute to observed host-pathogen associations, while also considering the environment and evolutionary histories of the interacting
species. One of the key issues concerns the identification of rodent species and estimation of their spatial distribution and spatiotemporal
dynamics. The study is based on GIS software integrating field data on rodents. This GIS utilizes satellite images on different scales,
from the regional scale (to compare study sites and place them in their geographical context), to the local scale (involving high spatial
resolution characterization of environmental niches). The project is thus aimed at building models to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics
of populations and to forecast changes in host-pathogen communities associated with potential ecological changes.
Contacts: Serge Morand, serge.morand@univ-montp2.fr
Jean-François Cosson, cosson@supagro.inra.fr & Vincent Herbreteau, vincent.herbreteau@teledetection.fr
S Potential distribution range of Rattus tanezumi in Nakhon Pathom province (Thailand)
estimated by combining field capture data and satellite image analysis.

eomatic research is carried out to gain
further insight into areas utilized by humans
and to enhance territorial management and
governance. The results have been widely published
through visual products such as maps (thematic,
3D, photomaps, etc.), as well as various images and
photographs (orthophotomosaics, aerial photographs,
satellite images, etc.). This broad range of constantly
evolving and ever more accurate, exhaustive and
diversified ‘images’ (‘animated maps’, web mapping, ‘virtual
globes’) prompts researchers to reflect on choices to be
made for stakeholders as a function of the knowledge
collected, issues at hand and objectives to fulfil.

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

G

48

Mobilizing spatial information for land-use planning is a
co-building and co-responsibility process. The project
contributes to building a shared view of territory based
on available tools, including: remote sensing, which
enables information acquisition on large areas and targets
of interest, and; geographic information systems (GIS) and
georeferencing of different information layers for spatial
correlation of data of various origins. Geoinformation
mobilization could be defined as the “implementation
of an information process by an individual (or a group
of individuals) in order to assess, or communicate on,
a social area”. This approach thus combines technical
and social aspects. The increasing dissemination of
these many geographic tools and their use in a range of
fields, especially land-use planning and risk management,
nevertheless prompts us to re-examine the meaning of
some concepts (e.g. ‘geoinformation’, ‘information system’,
‘complexity’, etc.), modifications in knowledge and its use,
the status of territory with respect to geomatics (e.g.
between real and virtual spaces), etc.

The research examples presented in this chapter
highlight the broad range of different territories
investigated and scales considered: from a national
view, through the prevention of locust outbreaks in
Madagascar, to an in-depth characterization of the
vulnerability of a region (Ile de France) to accidents
associated with dangerous material transport, but also
through targeted objectives. The applications presented
thus involve the characterization and assessment of
territorial modifications (converting agricultural land into
housing developments), monitoring the evolution of a
phenomenon (coastal erosion), characterizing geological
disasters (earthquakes). Integrated studies are also
presented. They are aimed at building ‘applied’ geographic
information systems, such as GIS RINAMED on natural
hazards in the Mediterranean region, or ‘integrated’ GIS
tools such as the SYSCOLAG project for global coastal
zone management. Through their diversity, these studies
illustrate the range of issues associated with the use
of geoinformation. These problems are hinged on the
uncertainty, the level of validity of spatial information
used and their impact on associated models, as clearly
illustrated by the study on the spatialization of the costbenefit analysis of flood prevention projects.
Geoinformation enables studies on all topics associated
with land-use planning and risks by providing key
decisionmaking support elements, while also highlighting
new scientific questions that will become research topics
of the future.
Jean-Paul Bord (EA GESTER)
& Pierre-Alain Ayral (LGEI)

S Swarm of migratory
locusts in Madagascar.

Crop damage associated with the last major
outbreak (1996-2000) led to pesticide spraying of
an area of over 4 million ha, thus highlighting
the need for an operational warning network.

Spatial analysis to prevent
locust outbreaks in Madagascar
The Malagasy migratory locust, Locusta migratoria capito Sauss., is able to
change phase according to its population density. The solitary and gregarious
phases are characterized by specific behaviours with markedly different
morphological, physiological and ecological traits. In the solitary phase, these
locusts are dispersed and do not threaten crops. They migrate by flying in
search of suitable conditions for their development. If such suitable areas
are spatially reduced, the locusts form high density groups. They can then,
through a few generations, switch to the gregarious phase, where they form
hopper bands and swarms that are capable of destroying crops and pastures.
An operational research project carried out by EMPA (CIRAD), in
collaboration with the Malagasy National Locust Centre, is aimed at
improving locust forecasting and monitoring systems in order to control this
plague. This involves combining monthly information on rainfall, habitats and
the biology of the locust (density, phase and stage). Spatial data can also be
used to delimit potential grouping areas where the high population densities
could trigger phase transformation and subsequent outbreaks.
A spatial delimitation of habitats was carried out through an analysis of
around 12 high resolution Landsat images. These spatial data on habitats
structures are updated monthly with field data: the rainfall levels and
biological features of the migratory locust are integrated in a GIS for
interpolation over the entire outbreak source area, i.e. 100 000 km². It is
thus possible, on a monthly basis, to monitor the evolution of areas suitable
for locust grouping and prevent outbreak risks.
Spatial monitoring of pest locusts in Madagascar, and elsewhere, represents
extremely targeted research. It requires in-depth field knowledge, effective
management of spatial information and long-term partners in concerned
countries.

A geographic information system on natural
hazards in the Mediterranean region:
a tool for territorial analysis, risk evaluation
and production of a permanent atlas
This project is part of a European initiative aimed at raising awareness on natural risk
prevention in the Mediterranean region (INTERREG RINAMED programme: a European
interregional cooperation initiative ‘Natural Risks and Hazards in the Mediterranean’).
It involves development of an interactive open-ended geoinformation platform (GIS and
webmapping) on natural risks and disasters throughout the Mediterranean Basin. This
is an exceptionally interesting area because it hosts a broad range of damaging natural
phenomena (earthquakes, flash floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides, severe storms, etc.)
while benefitting from a number of risk reduction initiatives.
The main difficulties encountered in this project concern the integration, synthesis,
homogenization and critical analysis of the many sources of available data, and setting up
a network of foreign correspondents. Moreover, the mapping production process requires
the development of a graphic production line, a specific graphic charter, and an online
interactive digital mapping tool.
The first applications derived from the database (GIS RINAMED) concern the production
of maps for a future permanent atlas of natural risks and hazards in the Mediterranean
Basin (RINAMED Atlas) and the development of composite indicators of risk on the
NUTS3 scale (international classification equivalent to the French departmental level) for
the Mediterranean Latin Arch (corresponding initiative entitled ‘RINAMED indicators’).
Current and future projects are focused on the development of an online interactive
GIS software tool based on open source technology. It should enable clients, via Internet,
to manage information layers, import data, make spatial requests, develop statistical
analyses and produce maps. This work should ultimately lead to the development of an
open-ended, top notch and efficient tool designed to enhance knowledge and promote
geoinformation sharing on natural risks and hazards in the Mediterranean region.
Contact: Frédéric Leone, frederic.leone@univ-montp3.fr

The coastal erosion problem is dealt with through remote sensing
analysis of the beach-dune system. This study is based on the
CNES Kalideos Programme which provides access to satellite
data on the Arcachon Basin. The aim is to develop a method for
monitoring a number of sedimentary and biological facies that
characterize shoreline advances and retreats.
A hybrid method that combines the accuracy of field readings
(too expensive to be implemented over the entire 270 km
Aquitaine shoreline) and a synoptic view of 14 high-resolution
satellite images (FORMOSAT-2) was selected for this monitoring
operation. Remote sensing mapping enables regular updates of
different facies such as the backshore and foreshore, grey and
white dunes, as well as the main limits formed by the shoreline
and the dune-forest interface.
A first preparation phase involved georeferenced data verification,
and radiometric analysis of scenes. Using an unsupervised
classification method, the Aquitaine coast was divided into four

Within the framework of the French Contrat de Plan ÉtatRégion 2000-2006, the French government, the Conseil Régional
d’Aquitaine, BRGM and the Office National des Forêts collaborated
to create the Observatoire de la Côte Aquitaine, which aims to
provide managers of the coastal zone in the French Aquitaine
region with a decision support tool.

Integrated environment/society approach applied
for the management and sustainable development of interface
territories: coastal regions and islands

S Environmental information research site in
Languedoc-Roussillon region (France) for the SYSCOLAG
programme based on the MDweb tool.
The most complex ecosystems and sociosystems are generally
located at the interface between different environments. In coastal
areas, land-sea contact points attract human populations and
economic activities, with a concomitant increase in land use disputes.
On islands, the landscape diversity, small area and isolation generate
atypical ecosystem and sociosystem organizations.
In this setting, sustainable development cannot be managed
through a sectoral approach–activity by activity–but rather through
an integrated territorial management approach. There are thus two
angles to the research:

 proposing each of the three main types of territorial
stakeholders, i.e. public authorities, economic decisionmakers
and users, a description of the dynamics and dysfunctions of this
system, while specifying their respective responsibilities in order
to boost their awareness on the problems and encourage them to
jointly come up with solutions.
The research unit ESPACE (IRD) has thus developed three
methodological modules focused respectively on:
 modelling the impact of catchment dynamics on coastal areas;
 analysis of spatial and temporal agreements and disagreements
in administrative territories with respect to institutional
integration of public policies;
 assessment of the socioeconomic value of ecosystems.
All of these initiatives involve sharing, analysis and joint
management of spatial information on territories, while
contributing to enhanced governance of coastal areas and islands.
Contacts: Gilbert David, gilbert.david@ird.fr
& Hélène Rey-Valette, helene.rey-valette@univ-montp1.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

 developing and validating knowledge integration and
management tools, such as the MDWeb tool for the management
of metadata tailored to the needs of the SYStèmes CÔtiers et
LAGunaires du Languedoc-Roussillon (SYSCOLAG) project by
the ESPACE, LIRMM and TETIS research teams and regional
stakeholders, i.e. the Centre d’Études et de promotion des Activités
lagunaires et Maritimes du Roussillon (CEPRALMAR in LanguedocRoussillon, France);

Of all the different categories of geological hazards, earthquakes
have the greatest societal impact, with heavy human casualties.
In the last 5 years, the only major earthquakes (Iran in 2003,
Sumatra and Pakistan in 2005, Indonesia in 2006, China in
2008) claimed almost 500 000 victims (source: United States
Geological Survey).
Satellite imaging is very useful for gaining insight into the
mechanisms that control these geological phenomena,
while also being an efficient means of obtaining quantitative
measurements.
A new imagery method that was developed by the French
Commission for Atomic Energy (CEA) and recently
implemented by Géosciences Montpellier provides a way to
S Measurement–by correlation of orthorectified aerial
supplement GPS point measurements and field observations
images–of ground displacements induced by an earthquake in
following earthquakes. This technique, which is based on
Taiwan (1999): in red, displacements of as much as 10 m.
the correlation of high resolution optical satellite images
(e.g. Ikonos, QuickBird or SPOT5) acquired before and after an earthquake, enables operators to identify faults where displacements
have occurred and to accurately measure the horizontal constituents of land deformations over a broad region around the earthquake
epicentre. These data are essential for understanding the behaviour of seismic faults and assessing associated hazards and risks.
Landslides are another major source of risk for inhabitants and infrastructures. They have a key role in the evolution of the topography of
mountain ranges. Remote sensing techniques facilitate global monitoring of hazard zones while not being hampered by any field constraints.
Radar interferometry (InSAR) is advantageous for quantifying, with centimetre accuracy, a landslide that has taken place between two
image acquisitions. It enables the operator to accurately determine the spatial distribution of the surface deformation. Moreover, the
temporal evolution of landslide activity can be studied to analyse the impact of tectonic or climatic forcings that could induce catastrophic
landslides.

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

Evaluation of the vulnerability
to risks associated
with the transport
of dangerous goods

It is essential to understand and prevent hazardous events
so as to ensure the safety of inhabitants in the concerned
area. Methodological risk characterization research involves
quantification of hazard sources and also on taking into account–in
an organized and formal way–the stakes (people, goods and
environment) and their vulnerability, and finally on aggregating all of
this information to assess risk levels.
An analysis of risks associated with hydrocarbon transport
throughout the Ile de France (IdF) territory focused on
modifications in risk levels induced by shifting hydrocarbon depots
from the petite couronne area (four departments adjacent to Paris)
to the grande couronne area (four departments on the periphery of
IdF).
The number of kilometres travelled to deliver fuels to Paris
has increased substantially, but it is also crucial to quantify the
associated risks. The risk ‘level’ is defined as a function that
combines a hazard potential variable (quantified by a probabilistic
and deterministic approach) generated by the source (hydrocarbon
transport) and a variable of the vulnerability of stakes in a
concerned area. The method was implemented with GIS software
to map the risk relative to hydrocarbon transport in IdF.

S Example of a human vulnerability map.
Three categories of mapping information were obtained:
 mapping the hazard potential of hydrocarbon transport;
 mapping the vulnerability within a territory (human, natural,
material stakes);
 and finally mapping the risk level relative to a hydrocarbon depot
and associated hydrocarbon transport involved in the depot shift.
Based on all of this information, an analysis can be conducted on
the risk of shifting a hydrocarbon depot and to predict the impact
of a given scenario.
This project was funded by the French Direction Générale de
l’Énergie et des Matières Premières (Ministry of Economy, Finance and
Employment) and supported by the ‘crisis management preparation’
service of the Direction Régionale de l’Équipement d’IdF/Service
Sécurité Défense (Ministry of Equipment).
Contact: Jérôme Tixier, jerome.tixier@ema.fr

A method for evaluating farmland
consumption via urban expansion
Periurban development, housing development in rural areas and the expansion of transportation
and tourism infrastructures generally occur to the detriment of farmland.This land is systematically
taken over and utilized as a result of local patterns (population growth, economic issues,
introduction of infrastructures and real estate at the expense of a few hectares of farmland) and
landowners’ interests.
This trend of farmland consumption to benefit urbanization is considered marginal on a local scale,
but it is a concern on regional and especially national scales when multiplied by the number of
towns and cumulated over time.The risk is that this extinction of farmland could be irreversible.
Indeed, it would be difficult and expensive (or even impossible or economically unrealistic) to try
to reconvert this land back into fields for crop production. In the current international setting of
food production and farm product and foodstuff trade, it is thus a strategically important heritage
component that is being consumed for immediate economic profit, without regarding the mediumand long-term social utility.

S Footprint of man-made

territories, town of Vailhauques
In 2008, the joint research unit (UMR) TETIS, in partnership with UMR LISAH, developed, in a pilot
(Hérault, France).
area in Languedoc-Roussillon region (France), a method for quantification and qualification of the
spatial and temporal dynamics of farmland consumption by housing developments.This method,
which was designed for potential application throughout France, is based on the use of satellite images acquired over the last 20 years, recent
land-use databases, and a soil mapping inventory.
The method is being applied in 2009-2010 for validation and to generate objective results on farmland consumption patterns in this region since
1989. A national farmland conservation strategy could ultimately be applied, in line with recognized strategies for the conservation of natural
areas and aquatic environments.
Contacts: Éric Barbe, eric.barbe@teledetection.fr & Philippe Lagacherie, philippe.lagacherie@supagro.inra.fr

aps, and more recently aerial photographs
and satellite images, have long been used
to support decision-making processes.
These data are primarily aimed at ‘rebuilding’ an actual
situation through projections, military maps, orthophotos,
spatial maps and other maps. These information sources
showcase the natural geographical area and, within it,
highlight physical resources, human communities and their
activities. Interpretation tools are obviously required to
give meaning to the shapes, colours and symbols, etc.
They can also provide support for the acquisition of many
different types of information that could be mobilized
in databases or via local know-how and testimony. They
may be presented in the form of atlases and information
systems.

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

M

54

With computer progress, it is assumed that unlimited
power is available for data management. However,
experience shows that the full potential of available
geoinformation is only utilized when implemented
for a targeted approach. This information thus simply
serves as an ‘intermediate tool’ to support individual or
collective analysis and debate. It can be used to model
phenomena and put forward hypotheses on cause-effect
relationships through the identification of key factors,
indicators and criteria, whose relevance must then be
confirmed. Exchange platforms facilitate data management
to gain insight into relationships between activity
systems, territorial footprints and impacts on resources.
Once this work is done, the image and maps serve as
communication tools that enable presentation of results
in attractive and accessible forms.

Natural and sanitary risk maps, development plans,
cadastral maps and models are all decision support tools.
Online mapping can also fuel social discussions.
Geoinformation has thus enhanced the scientific process
as well as project decision-making and management
processes. This is the approach discussed and illustrated
in the present chapter through many users and various
applications.
Historians and geographers can analyse and understand
changes in land-use patterns through studies on road
networks or landscape dynamics. Political scientists
use different sources of available geographical data to
interpret territorial modifications highlighted by war and
peace dynamics. Geographic information systems facilitate
the analysis of heterogeneous multisource and multidate
data for such studies. Remote sensing images can also
be used to enhance land management in Madagascar,
for instance, where very high spatial resolution images
are used as base maps–communities may trace the
boundaries of plots on these maps and draw up cadastral
maps at reasonable cost. Correlation of geographical
data and health data enables epidemiologists to detect
certain environmental or social factors responsible
for disease distributions. Finally, land planners propose
future scenarios in collaboration with different territorial
stakeholders, and this process is facilitated by the use of
information systems as communication tools.
Annelise Tran (UPR AGIRs)
& Jean-Philippe Tonneau (UMR TETIS)

Differential exposure of riverside
populations of Río Beni (Bolivian Amazon)
to mercury contamination
In Bolivia, epidemiological research concerning the variability in methyl mercury
contamination in riverside communities of Río Beni has raised a geographical problem,
where the contamination level is an indicator of lifestyles and spatial practices. What
nonbiological factors associated with territorial practices and resource management
are responsible for inequalities with respect to this contamination?
Two surveys were jointly conducted in 15 riverside communities, i.e. an
epidemiological survey of women and their children and a geographical survey to
highlight contrasting areas in terms of contamination. The population studied was
found to use many different resources, ranging from farming, hunting, gathering, logging
and other income-generating activities (house and boat building, etc.). However, the
relative importance of these different activities has created an imbalanced situation
with respect to health risks. A classification of resource management and exploitation
strategies was drawn up on the basis of the findings of a multidisciplinary crosssectional survey. This revealed five specific groups, with heterogeneous levels of
mercury contamination.
This study, which was carried out by the EPIPREV (IRD) team, revealed the influence
of social practices on the health risk in riparian populations of Río Beni in distinctly
separate areas. Fishing was found to have a role in the degree of exposure, but this
was significantly influenced by the specialized or diversified resource exploitation
systems in which the families were involved. Consequently it was found that the
population’s main activity determined the contamination level more than the
proximity to Río Beni.
Studies are currently under way to assess the structure of territories, inhabitants’
practices and resource availability. The aim is to reduce exposure risks through better
environmental management.
Contacts: Céline Tschirhart, celinetchi@hotmail.com
& Pascal Handschumacher, handschup@hotmail.com

A database was built with ArcGIS® software on the basis of
historical spatial information describing land-use patterns in the
Grands Causses region (France) with the aim of analysing the
role of human societies in landscape dynamics.
Cadastral maps and index maps mentioning land cover types
were digitized in order to determine the landscape structures
that prevailed in the 19th century. This information was matched
with older written sources in order to get a clearer picture of
the peri-Mediterranean limestone mountainous landscape during
the 1700-1900 period, i.e. treeless areas with substantial cereal
cropping. Information for the early 20th century highlighted the
impact on the landscape of the transition to an economy based
on sheep production, i.e. a decrease in cropping and an increase
in semi-natural grasslands, with a slight increase in forests.
In addition to the land-use patterns, cadastral maps enabled
an analysis of a number of social parameters, including land
appropriation (private or public), evolution in property sizes, and
location of owners’ residences.

Information describing recent land-use stages (late 20th century)
was derived from photointerpretation studies or remote
sensing. They revealed major changes in the landscape structure,
with a very marked increase in forest area. This was partly due
to reforestation, but especially to spontaneous forest growth
from old core forests. These changes should be correlated with
the modernization of livestock production systems which utilize
semi-natural grasslands resources to a much lower extent. The
dynamics of the landscape transformation, which began when
cereal cropping was abandoned in the late 19th century, were
further strengthened by the reduction in grazing pressure.
These transformations are now socially considered as being
problematic from biological (biodiversity loss) and cultural
standpoints.
Contacts: Pascal Marty, pascal.marty@cefe.cnrs.fr
Hervé Bohbot, herve.bohbot@cefe.cnrs.fr
Elie Pélaquier, elie.pelaquier@univ-montp3.fr
& Jacques Lepart, jacques.lepart@cefe.cnrs.fr

The Greek-Albanian border region is a stretch of land and
sea located relatively close to the Italian coast. The forests
and beaches of Corfu are visible from the tops of the rugged
mountains. For almost 50 years, however, this Balkan sector was
one of the most tightly sealed and guarded parts of the former
Iron Curtain. The state of war declared in 1940 between Greece
and Albania was only lifted in 1987. The high militarization in this
zone and strict border control ‘froze’ activities in many villages
and forced marginalized populations into exile. Since the early
1990s, despite the many conflicts affecting southern Albania, the
situation has cooled off and relationships between Athens and
Tirana have gradually returned to normal.
How did the transition from the opened Ottoman vilayet of
Ioannina (which disappeared in 1912)–a hub of activity and
trade–to such fragmented areas take place? How can the recent
transformation of such seemingly opposed territories and
landscapes be explained?
Different GIS and remote sensing tools were implemented to
determine the successive territorial changes that have taken
place. The initial project (CNRS, École Française d’Athènes) was
hampered by many factors, including the fact that access to
all mapping information and images was prohibited until just
recently. However, highly varied data was still collected during
several field trips: Ottoman, Greek and Albanian statistics
(population, agriculture land use) established over the last
century, old aerial photographs, declassified documents from

Documenting the impossible: the development
of a GIS for a territory of high strategic importancethe Greek-Albanian border region

Ioannina (Greece), its kastro and Nisi Island,
viewed from the opposite shore of the lake of the same name.

CORONA satellite* data, Landsat MSS archives, SPOT 5 and
QuickBird images of the towns of Gjirokastër and Ioannina.
This effective use and analysis of multisource spatial data by
a stakeholder during his research (for potential publication
of the findings) is an essential step in this physical and social
geographical approach–for this work, the geographer had to be
able to adapt to different spatial information processing methods.
Contact: Régis Darques, regis.darques@univ-montp3.fr
* American military photographic reconnaissance satellites (1960–1980).

Remote sensing–a key land reform tool in Madagascar
The image resolution range is 0.5-1 m. They
are projected in the Laborde Madagascar
system and used at 1:2500 to 1:10000
scale.
Costs and times for acquiring
such images for large surface
areas are inevitable issues when
archival images are considered
insufficient.

The Malagasy land reform, which has been under
way since 2005 with the support of different
expert teams (including UMR TETIS and
UMR INNOVATION*), is based on
land management decentralization.
Municipalities with a ‘land office’ can
now manage untitled private land
for which they can award land
certificates (CF) after local land
recognition commissions (CRL) have
been held.

The joint research unit (UMR) TETIS has been collaborating with
other laboratories, and in close partnership with the Syndicat
Mixte du Bassin de Thau and different stakeholders in Thau Basin,
to develop and implement tools that will favour integrated
sustainable development (territorial consistency and orientation
scheme, water planning and management scheme, Agendas 21).

Many problems are often encountered when striving to ensure
the consistency of territorial public policies in France, especially
the capacity of stakeholders to get organized to collectively
address the issues within their territory. This challenge is
substantial since all concerned parties and the local population
must, by law, be involved in the development and implementation
of territorial projects. In this new setting, collective learning
capacities within networks of mixed stakeholders are dependent
on the availability of information and communication tools.

Information and communication tools implemented or being
developed are highly varied and address different levels of
stakeholder participation. A few examples are: the MDWeb
tool for inventorying and making effective use of information
resources available within the stakeholder network, ‘stakeholderguided’ cartography that combines observatory data and local
know-how, physical relief models to facilitate territorial dialogue,
a cellular automaton combined with a geographic information
system to represent the dynamics of urban sprawl from 1940
to 2020, new tools based on Web 2.0 and online mapping to
support large-scale public debates (INTERnet pour la MEDiation
project [INTERMED]). In addition to contributions towards the
development and dissemination of these innovations, UMR TETIS
is conducting an assessment of their uses to measure progress
towards a form of territorial intelligence.
Contact: Pierre Maurel, pierre.maurel@teledetection.fr
For further information on MDWeb: www.mdweb-project.org

The spatial distribution of transportation and communication networks reflects the
social, economic and political structure and technological resources of a society, while
also being a key factor in its development. Historical and geographical approaches
to these spatial networks are studied by the research unit (UR) Dynamiques
socioenvironnementales et gouvernance des ressources (IRD).
During pre-Columbian times, the main route for the movement of people, linking
local confederations, was via the Andes.The ‘Inca Road’ followed previous trails.There
was technical progress in the quality of stopping-station construction, maintenance
and organization because the empire needed roads to control their territories and
populations.The Inca Road, spanning over 4 000 km, ran straight over mountains,
high plains (Altiplanos) and through valleys without difficulty.The slopes were not very
important for pedestrian travel until the advent of the industrial revolution.
In Peru and Ecuador, most people now live on the coastal plain.The Panamerican
route shifted accordingly.The initial project was based on a railway network, but
discussions are now focused only on the development of a road system.‘Road’ and
‘Panamerican’ are sometimes synonymous in popular language. Lorry transport
overtook railway transport around the middle of the 20th century since trains are
unable to climb slopes of more than 4%. Lorries nevertheless lose 10% of their power
with every 1 000 m elevation step.The choice of development between the Altiplano
at 4 000 m and the coastal plane is not as simple as it seems.
A new route is taking shape on the eastern side of the Andes. From Venezuela to
central Peru, it is only disrupted and dangerous in the Amazonian foothills region due
to violent situations.The population along the road is quickly increasing. Coca and
opium poppies are not present everywhere.To travel from Caracas to La Paz, it would
be faster to go via the inside of the Andean Arch than by the outside, as is currently
the case.The direct route via Manaus and the Transamazonian highway already links
the two most remote Andean capitals–this is and will be the fastest itinerary.

Geomatics and epidemiology:
satellite images to track midges
The distribution of vectors (insects and mites that transmit pathogens) and
communicated diseases is shifting as a result of climate change and human activities.
The AGIRs team and the research unit (UMR) TETIS are collaborating to study the
key environmental factors determining the disease distribution.
The topics investigated concern the search for epidemiologically useful indicators
that could be obtained from satellite images and the application of geomatic tools
for the spatialization of health hazards. One thesis research project derived from
this partnership, carried out in collaboration with the Université de Franche-Comté,
is aimed at identifying suitable landscapes for Culicoides imicola, a small exotic midge
that transmits bluetongue disease to sheep, on SPOT satellite images of Corsica
combined with field information. The recent arrival (late 1990s) of this midge in the
Mediterranean Basin led to a major epizootic (animal epidemic) of bluetongue disease.
Following a large-scale midge trapping campaign in sheep herds in southern Corsica,
environmental characteristics such as land-use and spatial vegetation patterns, and
the altimetric and hydrographic features around sites where the midge was present,
were compared with characteristics in the vicinity of sites where the midge was
absent. The results indicated that the presence of this midge was associated with
environments where the vegetation cover had low chlorophyll activity and where the
land-use pattern was highly diversified. Hazard maps were drawn up on the basis of
these results in order to target surveys of the disease and vectors in both infected
and uninfected zones.
Contact: Hélène Guis, helene.guis@cirad.fr

Geoinformation and Earth Observation for environment and territories

S Hazard map for the presence
of the midge Culicoides imicola
(indicator between 0 absence and 1 presence):
entomological approach.

59

Topics covered by
the research teams
(April 2009)

T

his Dossier is structured
in four chapters. The
first three deal with
methodological research issues
associated with the development
of methods. The fourth chapter is
thematic and is divided into four
subchapters that illustrate the
use of remote sensing and spatial
information in various specific
research fields.

The different research units and
teams mentioned throughout the
text are listed on the following
chart.
The main topics focused on by the
research teams are represented by
a triangle (S) and secondary topics
are shown with a circle (•). Red
triangles (S) indicate the chapter
in which the team’s features are
presented.

Agropolis International
training and education
in the Geoinformation and Earth Observation
for Environment and Territories field

A

gropolis International
proposes a complete
training-education
programme provided through its
member institutions (universities
and engineering schools, as well as
vocational training institutions).

The training-education programme
includes more than 80 diploma
courses (from Bac +2 to Bac +8:
technician, engineering degree,
Master’s, post-Master’s degree,
PhD), as well as vocational training
modules (existing or developed
upon request).

The tables below outline the
training-education courses related
to the Geoinformation domain.
They specify the diploma levels, a
description of the training courses
and the institutions in charge of the
programmes.

Short training programmes
Over the last 20 years, Agropolis
International institutions,
especially AgroParisTech within
the framework of the Remote
Sensing Center (Montpellier,
France), have developed a solid
diversified training programme
for professional stakeholders
and research staff wishing to
enhance their knowledge on
geoinformation methods and tools

Institution

and to implement them in different
specific fields.
In addition to this ‘catalogue’
training package, other special
training courses are offered in
response to specific requests.
These services are adapted to
fulfil the specific needs of partner
organizations and are accompanied
by educational engineering

initiatives aimed at formalizing
training approaches and
disseminating geomatic training
methods and tools. Educational
technology is used especially so as
to be able to tailor training sessions
to the constraints and to the diverse
range of target trainees (open and
distance learning, customization of
learning processes).

PhD diploma is obtained
after 3 years of laboratory
research. PhD students are de
facto attached to a PhD institution.
PhD institutions host research units
and laboratories working on major
themes. Their mission is twofold:
1) to ensure direct scientific support
for PhD students; 2) to provide
additional training throughout the 3
years.

The purpose of these modules is to
improve the scientific education of
the PhD students and help them
prepare their professional future.
Three graduate schools focus on the
‘Geoinformation’ theme:

Graduate school
‘Systèmes Intégrés en
Biologie, Agronomie,
Géosciences,
Hydrosciences,
Environnement’
(SIBAGHE)
The SIBAGHE graduate school
(integrated biology, agronomy,
geoscience, hydroscience and
environment research systems) is
devoted to life and earth sciences. It has
joint accreditation with AgroParisTech/
ENGREF, Montpellier SupAgro,
UM2 and the Université d’Avignon
for Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, along with the universities
UM1 and UPVD for genomics, botany,
microbiology and parasitology.
The SIBAGHE graduate school hosts
around 440 PhD students and is
supported by 45 affiliated research
units, 350 training supervisors and
several associated external research
teams. Every SIBAGHE PhD student
must successfully complete two
scientific training modules and two
professional introduction modules.
The graduate school manages thesis

registrations, PhD student supervision,
ensures that the thesis charter is
respected and organises thesis courses
and professional guidance. It is assisted
by a council and managed by an office.
In the geoinformation field, the
SIBAGHE graduate school hosts PhD
candidates focusing thesis research on
spatial and airborne remote sensing,
spatial analysis and modelling applied
to water, agriculture, environment, risks,
health, etc.

Graduate school
‘Territoires,
Temps, Sociétés et
Développement’
(TTSD, ED 60)
The TTSD graduate school (territory,
time, society and development)
is affiliated with UM3 and UPVD.
It groups 14 research teams, 200
teacher-researchers and around 500
PhD candidates. It offers PhD degrees
in 13 fields, including ‘Geography and
land-use planning’. Some of the main
lines of research are:
relationships between society
(human groups, institutions,
companies, etc.) and the environment
(territories, resources, etc.)
rural area, sustainable
development, risk prevention and
conservation of natural areas
physical features and resources
(natural or technological) of rural or
urban areas, etc.
In the geoinformation field, the

TTSD graduate school hosts PhD
candidates focusing thesis research
on the analysis of spatial and
temporal territorial dynamics and
on the importance of information
in territorial development, both
in terms of drawing up and
implementing public policies
and governance strategies and
discussions between stakeholders.

life sciences. It is supported by 17
host research units with recognized
expertise in each discipline.

Graduate school
‘Information, Structures,
Systèmes’ (I2S)

In the geoinformation field, the
I2S graduate school hosts PhD
candidates focusing thesis research
on designing spatially referenced
information systems and on image
and signal processing methods. 

The I2S graduate school
(information, structures, systems)
is affiliated with UM2, with the
participation of UM1, UM3 and
Montpellier SupAgro. INRA and
CIRAD are associate institutions.
This school provides PhD training
in a broad range of hard sciences
(mathematics, mechanics, physics,
information science and technology),
with substantial interaction with

This document was published with the support
of the French government
and Languedoc-Roussillon Region.
Member organizations and partners of Agropolis
International involved in this Dossier
AgroParisTech/ENGREF
BRGM
Cemagref
CIHEAM/IAM.M
CIRAD
CNES
CNRS
EMA
EPHE
ESA

Les dossiers d’Agropolis International
The Dossiers d’Agropolis International series is a deliverable of Agropolis International that is produced
within the scope of its mission to promote expertise of the scientific community.
Each Dossier is devoted to a broad scientific theme, and includes a clear overview that is a ready
reference for all laboratories and teams associated with Agropolis International that are conducting
research on the target theme.
This series is meant to boost the awareness of our different partners on the expertise and potential
available within our scientific community, but also to facilitate contacts for the development of
scientific and technical cooperation and exchange.